As Elena pulled the blanket tightly around Mand and carefully sat her down in a chair, Koril watched them both with disbelief.

"...Onndo? Onndo's doing this to us?"

Still shaking under Elena's embrace, Mand maintained a neutral expression though she suddenly sounded scared. "We gave it to him. I recognized his voice."

Though sitting beside Mand with her arm snugly around Mand's shoulders to comfort her, Elena felt as confused as the rest. "'We,' who, Mand? What are you --"

But realization stopped her as she pieced it together. Koril had told her earlier of Mand's suspicions of Huxnel involvement and her concern that the weapon from the painting was in their possession. And now that Mand remembered the painting switching hands, the situation was becoming even more complex.

Looking up at Koril, though, Elena could tell from the wary look in his eyes that he wasn't questioning Mand further for fear of his officers learning the truth about her past with the Huxnel. But the Admiral, General, and Captain were some of his most trusted, loyal officials, and if they were going to battle on his behalf to stabilize the sector, they deserved to get the information they needed to be effective leaders. She glanced briefly at Sokol, Kareu, and Jax, then gave Koril an imploring gaze.

"Koril...they need to know."

The three turned expectantly albeit confusedly to Koril, anxious for an explanation. Though briefly hesitant, he nodded, looking to them with a grim expression.

"I want to make this very plain: you are not to repeat what you are about to hear to anyone outside this room. That includes your subordinates, your officers, and anyone on your staffs. It will be at my discretion to whom else this may be disclosed at a later date. Is that clear?"

His officers nodded dutifully, and Koril continued on after a moment, his voice quieter.

"I also want it known," he began as he looked to Mand, "that I trust Mand...implicitly. I owe her far more than any debt can repay in one lifetime." Returning to the three, his voice hardened once more. "And now you do, too. You will respect her as you respect me. Am I understood?"

Again, the three agreed, and despite his reluctance, Koril looked to Mand again and nodded, giving her permission to continue. Elena felt Mand's shaking lessen as she continued to hold her, but as she began to speak, she cast her gaze to the floor in front of her, avoiding the stares of the Paneau officers watching her.

"I first stepped foot on Paneau almost seven years ago as a fifteen-year-old...and as a Huxnel agent." She paused briefly, righting her faltering expression to keep going. "I had been one of their stealth operatives since I was very young, trained by a Dark Jedi and raised among them. When they attacked Paneau, I was...tasked with infiltrating the ruling elite, and bringing them down from within in order to make the Invasion easier and to hasten the transition of power after the city fell. But I met Elena, and Queen Tascit...and they both turned me around. Since then, I have been doing everything in my power to help Paneau, to try to make up for the damage I had caused.

"But I failed today... I should have warned you about it earlier." Once more, she began to break down, but Elena again hugged her tightly to reassure her, and regaining her composure, she continued. "Nine years ago, I was part of a group that stole a painting which was rumored to have the schematics for a powerful, ship-disabling weapon embedded within it. In return for the painting...the buyer gave us the intel on Paneau's...unique resource, and we invaded three years later.

"I only ever heard the client's voice, and he was never mentioned by name, but by a code name. I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner... They called him 'kt'sheor;' it's Cheunh, Chiss language for --"

"'The gaudy one.'"

For the first time since she had begun her explanation, Mand looked up and met Admiral Sokol's gaze as he finished her sentence for her, nodding to him after a brief moment. "We gave the painting to Onndo as payment for the information he gave to us about Paneau."

Expectedly, the entire room endured a long, stunned silence as everyone present struggled to comprehend what the new connection to Paneau's recent troubles meant. Even Elena could hardly believe what Mand had said of Onndo, and trying to think through everything that had happened...

"...are you sure?"

Mand looked to Koril and nodded again, swallowing in an effort to control her shaky voice. "I wasn't supposed to overhear their transmissions, but..." she trailed off briefly, her gaze unfocusing as she fell into her memories, "...they trained me well. Believe me: he's just as intolerable now as he was then."

Though he looked vaguely haunted, Admiral Sokol spoke up again, glancing between Mand and Elena. "So that weapon in the painting... That's what attacked us and destroyed the comm relays?"

Mand nodded once more. "Sounds like it was modified for smaller craft."

"Onndo betrayed us all," Kareu began angrily, but Sokol was quick to counter.

"It's not the first time, Alec."

"But I want it to be the last."

The gravity in Koril's voice caught Elena briefly off guard, but looking over at him, she could see the sheer determination in his expression as he thought.

"Onndo essentially invited the Huxnel to Paneau," he began thinking aloud, "just so he could get his hands on that painting. He brought serious destruction to our home, and now the entire sector is paying for it, as well. The Huxnel were behind the shuttle explosions, that much is clear: in a nearby alley that lead to the landing platform, Captain Jax and I found our two Paneau guards who had been assigned there but were killed, but not before one of them had grabbed a fistful of Huxnel uniform. They are involved, but these dangerous vessels...could they be controlling them, too?"

Though she was rapidly losing coherence as she sank further into despair, Mand shrugged weakly. "If the majority of the organization has been captured like Onndo said, then these rogues have probably joined together for one common mission, whatever that is."

"They were captured, Mand," Elena brought up quietly. "Their Star Destroyers were all detained near the Unknown Regions. Master Kanomin told me just before the relays were disabled."

"Then they're looking for payback," General Kareu answered darkly. Elena quickly looked to him for an explanation, as did the rest of the room. "Think about it," he continued. "They tried to invade twice, and they were foiled twice. Onndo gave them the intel and it never worked, but they knew what kind of defenses we could summon. If even just a few of them got those schematics back from Onndo somehow, they'd want to try again with this new weapon, wouldn't they?"

"But this isn't the whole group, General," Elena buffered. "Surely a small tag team wouldn't be so organized...would they?"

Again looking to Mand, Elena felt her shrug once more. "Depends on the number and caliber of the operatives. They probably do blame us for the rest of them getting captured." Getting unsure expressions from the officers, Mand explained further. "Though the group itself isn't very old, its operatives are...undyingly loyal. They wouldn't just fold because their leaders are incarcerated, they'd find a way to get them back or deal a final blow to their enemy."

Skeptical, Admiral Sokol arched an eyebrow. "You escaped it."

Mand nodded. "I was young, and I already had doubts. It was all I knew, but I never had anything...personal tying me to them. A lot of the operatives saw the New Republic as an enemy, not a liberator, since it was the Empire that had first brought order and stability to their turbulent and impoverished homeworlds. Some officers were even Imperials once themselves. The Huxnel gave them an outlet to fight back."

Still angered, Kareu leveled a calculating gaze at Mand. "Are you saying that they're going to use this entire sector to ransom their group back from the New Republic?"

Though Mand met the General's stare, she said nothing in reply, prompting Elena to intervene. "This is all speculation. We won't know anything for sure until we get answers from Onndo."

Becoming anxious, Koril sat up even straighter in his bed, catching Mand's eyes. "But we can't go directly to Onndo with what we know. He'll get suspicious and want to know how we found out, then pin all the blame on you, Mand. We have to catch him off guard somehow, catch him in a lie."

After a few moments, Mand looked up and nodded strongly. "I'll do it."

But worried about her friend's mental state, Elena shook her head both at Koril and at Mand. "No, Mand, you need to rest, you're not --"

"Strong enough?" Mand bit back harshly, briefly quieting Elena. She shook her head again carefully, hoping to calm Mand.

"I was going to say that you're not allowing yourself to recover properly."

Still, Mand refused to back down. "Who else besides me could point out Huxnel operatives? I can think like they do, and I can speak Onndo's language, too. I'm going."

Realizing that she wasn't going to convince Mand otherwise, Elena nodded reluctantly. "Then I'm going with you."

Again Mand resisted, standing from Elena's embrace and shedding the blanket that had been around her shoulders. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm doing this alone." Stepping to the door, she turned back and looked at each of them, her voice quiet but resolute. "Don't follow me."

Leaving quickly, Mand disappeared into the hall, and as Elena stood to go after her, Koril stopped her.

"Elena..."

Frustrated and troubled, she looked to Koril with a concerned expression. "She's not stable...and she's not even armed."

Koril looked worried, too, but as he glanced at her waist, he sighed resignedly as he nodded. "Yeah, she's not stable, but she is armed."

Unsure what he meant, she followed his line of sight to her belt...where her lightsaber was no longer hanging. Mand had taken it without Elena even realizing it. Getting over her brief shock, she couldn't decide whether to be content with or more worried about Mand wielding a lightsaber in such a volatile state. Though she didn't want Mand to have to face their enemy alone, she agreed with her argument; she just hoped Mand would be able to focus well enough to get through to Onndo...without making their situation worse.

Jedi Master Amina Kanomin took in a deep breath as she left her meditation, sensing someone approaching her on the Valiance's command deck. Once again feeling the humming vibration of the cruiser's massive bulk under her feet and hearing the subtle whine of the hyperdrive engines echoing through its durasteel structure, she opened her eyes to see Joshua Redgrave standing before her, clad in his New Republic uniform. She smiled kindly up at him from her seat, but he was quick to give his report.

"Master Kanomin, we're less than ten minutes from the Paneau system."

"Very good, Commander," she answered as she stood and stepped closer to forward command. "Have your Rallyes ready in the hangar bay."

Joshua followed her closely as he nodded to a nearby officer to relay the order, but as she watched the ensigns busy at their consoles in front of her, Joshua continued quietly.

"Master, would you mind telling me what exactly my squadron is going up against?"

Looking at him with a cautious expression, she sighed. "Hopefully just a simple equipment malfunction, Mr. Redgrave."

Unconvinced, Joshua turned to her more closely to keep from being overheard. "But you suspect something more malicious, don't you?"

Master Kanomin returned her gaze to the viewport ahead, watching the stars streaking by in flashes of light, and she spoke after a few moments of thought. "It was your droid, Eewon, who brought the New Republic all the intel on the Huxnel that lead to their capture, was it not?"

Joshua blinked, seemingly surprised that she knew. "It was. I was part of a team that turned a Huxnel agent, and he gave us the security codes to program into Eewon so he could access their systems when he found a terminal. The Natiyrs took him with them while they were searching for Koril Rys'tihn among the Huxnel, and they infiltrated an old Huxnel base on Sump... How did you --"

"He's a clever little droid," she interrupted with a small smile. "Where is he now?"

"He's been retired from active duty for several years, but I have him acting as a sentry for my family while I'm gone."

Master Kanomin nodded, momentarily watching the displays that followed their flight path and demonstrated their proximity to Paneau.

"...Master?"

Returning to him, she again sighed lightly. "As admirable of a job as Eewon did, I'm afraid that we were not entirely successful. Not all of the Huxnel operatives were on board those Destroyers when we detained them."

Joshua furrowed his brows, looking even more worried. "They've attacked Paneau?"

"Unknown. That is what we're going to find out, Commander, since it has become apparent that the entire sector has gone dark."

"We should have brought more reinforcements, then! Paneau cannot hold them off on their own!"

But Master Kanomin shook her head calmly. "Relax, Mr. Redgrave. I do not think it is Paneau that they are after. I was conversing with Elena Rys'tihn when the signal was lost, and she had been on Demmar where an attack had targeted the security leaders of the three planets. I think something else is at work here."

Though he hadn't calmed much, an officer sitting in front of them spoke up. "Leaving hyperspace in five seconds."

Looking back up at the viewport, Master Kanomin watched as an asteroid field surrounding a lifeless planet came into focus as they neared the edge of the sector, and even though they found the entire area empty and devoid of any activity, she briefly expected some kind of ambush to greet them out of the dangerous field. It remained tranquil, though, momentarily putting her at ease. The Valiance could safely navigate around the asteroid field as it moved deeper into the sector, but for some reason she felt drawn to it and curious, she gave the helmsman a new order.

"Maintain a slow, steady pace and increase power to the sensors to see through that field. I want to know if there's anything there that we should investigate."

"Yes, Master," the ensign answered obediently as he slowed the massive Venator-class cruiser. Tense, silent moments slipped by as all on the bridge watched out the viewport, on edge to spot something, anything out of the ordinary...

"Master Kanomin," a young lieutenant spoke up, "I'm getting a strange reading from the other side of that rock."

With Joshua on her heels behind her, Master Kanomin stepped over to the sensor readout, wanting to examine it herself. As she leaned over him, the lieutenant looked confused as he explained.

"It reads as a dense cloud of...metal, Master, but no heat signature. If it was a ship, it should be broadcasting codes."

"Can we get a closer look?"

The helmsman looked over. "If we go slow enough, we can try."

Glancing briefly at Joshua, Master Kanomin nodded. "Do it."

Again the deck watched quietly as the Valiance gradually turned and began to enter the asteroid field. Its deflector shield protected it well enough as it moved in; they only rocked slightly from minor collisions, but as they approached the uninviting, listless planet and rounded it to see its other half, Master Kanomin could hardly speak fast enough as they met the backside of a Star Destroyer...with visible Huxnel markings on its hull.

"All stop! Increase power to the forward shields! Ready the turbolaser cannons!"

As the crew scrambled to follow her orders, Joshua held his hand out to halt them as he continued to study the Destroyer, seemingly perplexed by it.

"What's the readout, Lt. Vell?"

"It's...dormant, Sir. Looks to be abandoned."

Master Kanomin looked over the Destroyer more carefully, too, and saw what had caught Joshua's attention. Its rear engines were dark and inert, and its hull was missing in random sections, exposing its internal skeleton. But the holes weren't ragged as though the ship had been pierced by turbolasers or other weaponry in an attack; rather, the panels seemed to be precision-cut, carefully removed by someone who valued the Destroyer's armor.

"No internal activity, no shields, no sensor sweeps, no incoming or outgoing transmissions... Main and backup power generators are both disabled, Sir."

Master Kanomin watched carefully. "Any life aboard?"

"Not that our scanners are picking up, Master Kanomin, but they're having a hard time getting through most of its mass. There seems to be some interference deep within the ship."

Still confused, Joshua looked to her briefly. "Why would the Huxnel have abandoned one of their Destroyers out here?"

she shrugged. "It is possible that they merely found it here after the downfall of the Empire and salvaged it for scrap." Still intensely curious about it, though, she turned, eager to join Joshua's Rallyes in the hangar. "I want to see inside that ship. Commander, keep the --"

Stopping mid-sentence and mid-stride, she wasn't quite sure what she was seeing out the side viewport. A strange black haze was rapidly approaching the Valiance and the Huxnel Destroyer from the surrounding asteroid field, but she couldn't identify it. Seeing it, too, Joshua looked to his officers.

"Lt. Vell?"

"The sensors having a hard time making something of it... There's a large heat signature, but it's not coming from any single source. The whole cloud is emitting it, like it's a..."

"A swarm of ships," Joshua finished for him just as hundreds of small, identical vessels zipped over the command deck. Briefly stunned, he recovered and returned to the lieutenant. "Shields!"

"Forward deflector at maximum power, Sir."

But even as the anxious moments passed, the small ships sailed effortlessly over the Valiance without any signs of aggression or change in behavior, and they peacefully disappeared into the Destroyer through its open hangar on its underside.

Unsure what she had just witnessed, Master Kanomin watched the Destroyer intensely, halfway expecting it to spring back to life at any moment. When it remained silent, though, she looked to Joshua who also sported a haunted expression. Before either could formulate words, another officer spoke up with a report.

"I'm picking up an outgoing transmission from the Destroyer, Sir. It's encrypted, looks like Huxnel signature."

Joshua looked back to Master Kanomin. "They must be warning the other operatives."

She nodded, and thinking quickly, she stepped over to the comm officer, again meeting Joshua's gaze across the deck. "You said your droid was at your home. Is he still programmed with the Huxnel codes?"

Joshua nodded, too, but confused, he continued to look to her for an explanation.

"We have to warn Paneau about what we've found," she added quietly, "and that more danger may be on the way. And we're going to use the Huxnel Destroyer's transmitter to do it."