#Five acting all aloof as if he isn't immediately going into Dad Mode

[captainderyn]

Welcome Home, Agent [Fic]

Summary: Fresh off of her first mission as a junior agent, Erabelle returns to Dromund Kaas to be debriefed by Keeper. She meets two agents she will be working with, including a familiar face. (or, for those familiar with the Deryn-lore: the agent family meets!!)

--

Returning to Dromund Kaas was a whirlwind.

The travel time between Hutta and Dromund Kaas had hardly been restful, in fact Era had spent so long on her datapad going over mission debriefings and writing her reports that her eyes were dry and overused.

She hoped the longer she worked in the field, the easier mission reports became to write. Though they'd written report after report at the Academy, she still had the template and suggestions given by her instructors pulled up in another tab. It wouldn't do to make a mistake on the first document she sent to Keeper.

By the time they landed and she stepped back into Kaas City for the first time in weeks, her acid eaten and oil-smelling undercover clothes swapped for her pressed Intelligence uniform, she took a deep breath of the humid air and felt part of her relax.

Though nerves still fluttered in her stomach at the thought of facing Keeper in-person for the first time since she'd graduated from the Academy and at the thought that this was her first solo mission completed, Kaas City was home. She didn't have to worry about unexpected enemies leaping at her from corners or hutts putting targets on her back just because she looked at them wrong.

At least in Kaas City, she was far less out of her depth.

"Agent," Keeper turned to face her, fixing her with a analytical stare. Era snapped into a parade rest, squeezing her hands tight behind her back. Something in his look ignited that nervous, rapid pace of her heart once again, "I was reviewing your actions from Hutta. It seems as though you kept yourself quite busy."

It was true, she had taken on far more tasks than were strictly listed in her mission plan. All of those secondary missions had sprung up organically, and none of them had compromised her main work. No one had told her anything about whether that was permissible or not.

She swallowed, "At the time, that work seemed the best way to establish myself in the community as the Red Blade. It spread my name around, made people less suspicious."

As Keeper consulted his datapad, she shifted and tried to wipe her sweaty palms on her trousers as discretely as she could.

"You do a remarkable job improvising and thinking on the fly, agent." He mused, latching onto her once again with that unreadable expression. Was it disapproval? Anger? Approval? Just his face?

"Yet there were many times you took unnecessary steps to avoid violence. Why?"

Disapproval then, was it? Era's stomach dropped straight to the floor, "Sir, in those moments I felt that violence would only cause more issues down the line."

When Keeper's eyes narrowed, she squashed down the feeling that she'd chosen the wrong answer. Her palms were clammy again, she wanted to wipe them, but Keeper was still studying her.

"Cipher Five highly recommended you coming out of the Academy. It was on his professional opinion and praise that I designated you to go to Hutta."

While in her final briefing with Cipher Five, after the cadets' final mission simulator, he'd told her he saw her potential for the cipher track, she'd doubted he would actually advocate for her career like that. He'd been aloof, distant from his cadets throughout every training module...had he actually cared where they would end up?

"I don't plan to waste such high praise." Era cleared her throat as her voice hitched, nerves constricting her throat. Her mouth felt full of cotton, too dry and thick to speak, "I will adjust my course according to your recommendation, Keeper."

The older agent sighed and closed his eyes, but when he looked at her again something in him had softened. The lines had eased over his brow, at the corners of his mouth, "You can relax, agent, I am not going to drop you from Intelligence after your first solo mission. You did well."

She dipped her head, forcing out a deep breath and trying to roll some of the tension from her shoulders. His endorsement did not soothe her as it was probably meant to, the footing she stood on still felt remarkably shaky, "Thank you, sir."

"I still do not like Darth Jadus' involvement of a junior agent on this mission." Keeper mused, "You are still gaining experience in the field, and it does not feel right to throw you into this blind. As such, you will have two agents that will be supporting you on this mission alongside Miss Djannis."

Goosebumps shivered down Era's arms at the thought of Darth Jadus in his imposing mask, towering over her and telling her that he was watching her closely. That level of scrutiny from a Sith might as well be a death sentence waiting to happen. Whatever she had done on Hutta, perhaps she should've done less effectively, if it would've meant losing Jadus' interest.

Keeper spoke into an intercom at his desk and within moments the doors behind her whisked open. Two agents swept in, the door hissing shut behind them, and they both fell into matching positions of attention.

One agent was completely unknown to her, a woman with slicked back black hair and a buzzing energy about her, as though her mind was zipping several steps ahead of whatever her body was doing.

The other had a familiar, inquisitive look fixed on her. A look that had always been followed by some kind of constructive criticism that had often infuriated her in her classes.

Cipher Five looked the same as he had at the Academy, if less well rested. When she finally glanced over at him, he gave her a slight nod as a greeting. It was nearly friendly, for him.

What kind of mission was this if Keeper was willing to have Cipher Five watching over her? Something bigger than her was moving beneath the surface, she just wished she knew what it was.

"Agent, this is Watcher Two." Keeper gestured to the woman, who offered a polite wave, "She is incredibly smart and will be your diapason back here to headquarters. She will have any and all information that you need."

He motioned to Five, who had eased into a parade rest, "And consider this your reintroduction to Cipher Five. Given his interest in your progress, he will be monitoring your mission and will be a resource for you to turn to for all things an operative should know."

Era wasn't sure if she was meant to salute, wave, or just say hello. She settled for the most formal of the three and added, "I'm looking forward to working with you both."

"I monitored your operation on Hutta, it was quite impressive. I look forward to working with you as well, agent." Watcher Two offered her a warm smile, "Come to my office after this meeting, I'll give you more information on your next steps back here on Dromund Kaas."

"I'm glad to see you surpassed my expectations for your first mission." If she wasn't mistaken, there was a bit of an 'I told you so' in the glance Five darted to Keeper, "Seeing your progress going forward will be most interesting."

Keeper dismissed both agents, motion for her to wait just a moment before leaving as well, "You are back on Imperial soil, agent, you needn't hide that you're a member of Imperial Intelligence with this mission. Welcome home."

--

Five and Watcher Two were gone when she slipped from Keeper's office.

Era scrubbed her hands down the front of her pant legs, undoing her bun and twisting it back into place just to give her shaky hands some way to work out her excess energy.

It could have gone worse. It most certainly could have gone better.

She couldn't decide if she felt more secure, having the knowledge of Five and Watcher Two to fall back on, or if it left her feeling more scrutinized. There was a slim margin of error with this mission, and all of her missions going forward as it sounded, but wasn't this what she had signed up for? What she'd worked tirelessly for?

"Agent, Keeper didn't tear you up too bad, did he?" She jolted from her thoughts, body slipping into an automatic attention before she registered who it was in front of her.

She didn't know him, but his uniform had the Cipher designation in his ribbons, just as Five's did. He was a mountain of a man, the row of ribbons on his uniform at her eye level.

But his face was jovial, a neatly clipped beard framing a wide smile and bright eyes edged by crows feet.

"Uh...no, he didn't...sir."

The cipher agent waved off her title, waved off her attentive stance, "Relax, agent, no one's going to throw you to the curb. Besides, you'll be one of us in no time if Five has anything to say about it, so we might as well act as such."

Era blinked, unable to even pretend that she knew what the other agent was talking about, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Cipher Seven!" A sharp voice barked from across the common area packed with data terminals. The agent, Cipher Seven, rolled his eyes to the ceiling before smartly pivoting and snapping a salute.

"Fourteen!" He greeted, remarkably casual for the stormy look the woman who stalked towards them was wearing. She held a stack of datapads in her arms, but it did not make her any less intimidating.

A very small, very out of line, part of Era couldn't help noting that she was terrifyingly gorgeous, marching towards them. She stuffed that thought away, punted it away, really, trying her best not to shrink back and make herself as tiny as possible.

"You had better not be getting our junior agent's hopes up." The woman spoke sharply, "And don't put promises in Cipher Five's mouth that he can't keep."

Cipher Seven made a face, gesturing back towards Era. She did her best to disappear right on the spot. It didn't work.

"I'm not making promises, Fourteen, but Five has been pushing for this designation since she graduated from the Academy. Knowing someone's in her corner is paramount in this field, you know that."

"Cipher...Fourteen, ma'am," Era forced out, trying not to cow when Fourteen's attention shifted to her, "I really don't understand what's going on."

Then, to her surprise, Fourteen's entire demeanor softened. Her eyes, which had been dark wells of irritation when fixed on Seven, brightened and her entire being shifted towards something almost motherly.

"Fixer Fourteen, not Cipher." She corrected gently, "What Cipher Seven was trying to do was let you in that you already have a lot of support here at Intelligence headquarters. We've been sorely lacking in new agents recently, and we're all excited to see what you do. And while Keeper is the one who assigns designations, Cipher Five, the agent heading the Cipher division, has high hopes for you."

"That's what everyone keeps saying." Era pushed away her uncertainty, keeping to herself that that sounded like an awful lot of pressure was just dropped onto her.

Seven snorted, "Don't look like its a death sentence, trust me, Cipher Five is a lot more bark than he is bite."

Fourteen leveled another look at him, and something Era couldn't parse flashed between them. Clearly there was some connection between the three that she wasn't privy to.

"Cipher Five has your best interests in mind." Fourteen added to Seven's statement, "He will do everything he can to support your growth as an agent. As will we. You'll never go without support here. We know how overwhelming it is when you first start."

Seven nodded, offering her an encouraging smile, "And, about how your first meeting with Keeper went, don't take it personally. He has a lot on his plate right now, it's not really about you."

That brought her more comfort than she thought it would and she offered a small smile of her own, "Well...thank you. I look forward to working with you all then."

Fourteen beamed at her, "Welcome to the family, agent."