Ganner Krieg spent a day and a half in the Jedi Temple before Treis Sinde's response finally came in the form of a single datacard, delivered without explanation by Astraal Vao. By the time he returned to Eastport, everyone had been recalled to Starlight Champion and gathered in the crew lounge to hear what he'd discovered.

Ganner hadn't checked the datacard yet and was as in the dark as any of them. He felt like he had a small army over his shoulder as he plugged the card into the datareader and viewed its contents. They came with no explanation from Sinde, but most of the information was easy to understand. He found selected records from Galactic City's flight control system, which marked two separate occasions when an IC-2 scoutship descended from orbit and appeared to land directly at a service hangar attached to the Department of Transportation headquarters building.

"That's where they're keeping the empress?" Hondo Karr grunted disbelief. "I was expecting the main palace complex, maybe the justice or defense buildings… But the transit department?"

"It's not where someone would think to look," Sauk said. "Maybe that's the point."

Ganner considered. "I know that building. It's one of the few places in the government district that didn't get wrecked in the fighting. While we were rebuilding, we had to cram in a lot of other agencies until they had their own spaces. Mostly they got stuck in the lower levels."

"So when they move into their own buildings, there's vacant space for Chalk to remodel," Tes said thoughtfully. "It makes sense."

"It's still a huge tower. I think there's over a hundred storeys still in use."

"The empress would probably be below that," Marin said. "Far below. What else is the card?"

Ganner checked the other files. A half-dozen personnel reports listed biographical data on six different stormtroopers. All had served with valor during the war against Krayt and all had experience in intelligence work and black ops. From the markings Ganner could tell these were classified profiles, which meant Sinde was doing some risky sleuthing.

"So who are they?" asked Yangar. "Did Sinde find the pilots who flew to Myrkr?"

"I'm not sure." Ganner scanned through several profiles. "All of these records go up to about a month ago. Then they were all switched to Hogrum Chalk's personal bodyguard team."

"Does that mean he has them doing Myrkr runs on the side?"

"I'm not sure," Ganner admitted, and wished Sinde had passed more explanation along.

"These may just be the people who are closest to Chalk," Marin said. "I'd bet there's a half-dozen people, at most, who know what he's doing to Marasiah. Hells, the ones tending the ysalamiri might not even know why they're doing it."

"He had four soldiers when he arrested her," Ganner recalled. "At least that many have to know."

"Unless he shut 'em up already," Hondo muttered.

It was certainly possible; Ganner had no idea what was out of bounds for Chalk, if anything. Whatever cage Marasiah was locked in could easily be tended by droids. He looked checked the datacard for anything else useful and found a single, tiny text file. It read simply: Men to watch. Let me know next step.

"I think," he said, "Sinde just gave us information on Chalk's bodyguards. Which means if we're watching them, we can watch Chalk."

"You mean put a tracer on 'em?" Hondo sounded skeptical. "Even if we could get close enough, Chalk's gotta have top-grade security. They'll be sure to scan for homing devices."

"Some are easier to spot than others," Sauk said thoughtfully. "Others are nearly impossible to find, even with a good scanner."

"Do you have something specific in mind?" asked Marin.

"Maybe." The Mon Cal's big eyes seemed to stare back in time. "About a year ago we- Ania and our friends- used an old tracking device to find a pirate's treasure den. It's totally dormant except for when it sends a signal at once-an-hour intervals. The signal's practically invisible unless you've got a receiver set to hear the exact right frequency."

"Sounds useful if you're after something that doesn't move around a lot," Tes said. "But Chalk probably will be moving."

"It was an idea." Sauk spread his webbed hands. "I examined the thing before we put it to work. If I had the right materials I could probably build a new one."

"How big would it be?" asked Marin.

"About as big as a human thumbnail."

"Sounds easy to conceal," Hondo admitted. "I still don't know how you expect to get close enough to Chalk's guard to tag 'em though."

"I imagine Sinde would be in the best position to do that," said Tes, "If he's willing."

"There's only one way to find out," said Ganner. "But we need to do other things first. Sauk, are you sure you can fix up that kind of tracker?"

"I just need the materials. I'm sure I can find them on Coruscant somewhere."

"Then it sounds like you need to go on a shopping trip this afternoon," said Marin. "We also need to find out more about this transit department HQ. If the empress really is in the lower levels, we'll need some kind of building plan before we try to get there."

Ganner thought a moment. "Parts of that building are open to the public. They have to through security, of course."

"Good thing we brought a fistful of fake IDs," Oren said cheerily.

"You'll need more than that to actually get a copy of the building plans. You'd have to slice into a public information terminal without alerting security."

"Sounds like a fun challenge."

"It won't be fun if you get caught," Ganner warned. "In fact, it could scrub the whole mission."

"Oren's as good a slicer as we've got," his sister said. "I'll shadow him when he goes in and watch his back, just in case."

"Even if we do pull a building schematic, you can be sure it's not gonna have some Empress Here marker on it," Hondo said. "How are we gonna find her?"

"Well, the tracker might help," said Sauk. "If Chalk or his guards ever make a run to the transit building…" His eyes drifted toward Marin.

The old woman nodded. "I'll be able to sense if he enters the ysalamiri bubble."

"Handy powers, those are," Oren muttered.

"Are you sure you can do that?" Ganner asked cautiously.

Marin nodded again. "I've been taking time to meditate over the past few days. I've gotten better at pinpointing a single life amidst all this noise, though I admit I could use more time to practice."

"It'll probably take a few days at least to make the tracker and get it to Sinde," Sauk said. "From there… who knows when Chalk or his guards will go visit Marasiah."

"Not to crash your plan, but it might be if instead of when," said Yangar. "Can't we get, I dunno, old building plans of the transit headquarters?" He looked to Ganner. "You said it's been remodeled. If we can do a before/after comparison we can narrow down where the empress might be."

"That's good," Ganner nodded. "Oren, if you can get into the building computer, try to copy any map in the memory files, outdated and current."

"I'll see what I can do. You recommend any time to stop by?"

"Midday is probably the busiest time for visitors. If you want to get lost in a crowd, go then."

"Understood."

Silence filled the hold. Hondo gave a wide look around and asked, "Is that it? Do we have a plan?"

"It seems like we do." Ganner sounded slightly surprised.

"What about the offworld part of this job?" asked Yangar. He was referring, of course, to Ania and Azlyn, who'd gone back to the Alliance fleet to beg assistance.

"Nothing yet," Marin said. "If and when they have something to say, they'll contact us."

Right now Ganner didn't even know what help the Alliance could provide; they'd have to locate Marasiah before coming up with a rescue plan. They might not even require assistance at all. Nonetheless, he knew Azlyn's mission was important. If and when they rescued Marasiah they'd have to get her off Coruscant and someplace safe before she announced her survival to the galaxy. If she came riding into view on the bridge of the Alliance, thereby cementing the collation that made the Galactic Federation possible, well, it seemed to him the best possible outcome.

But that was a long way off, he reminded himself. Both he and Azlyn had a lot of work to do.

-{}-

Ania lost count of how many jumps it took to reach their destination, but Anj gave them a warning shortly before they exited hyperspace for the last time. All three women crowded Scarlet Star's cockpit as the old YT-2100 freighter shuddered out of lightspeed and plunged into the Alliance fleet.

As they slipped between two sabertoothed Mon Cal cruisers and vectored for the broad white wedge of the flagship, Ania could tell she was surrounded by a formidable fighting force. She also knew that it was no match for the combined navies of the Galactic Federation, all under Hogrum Chalk's command. This fleet was a flint match, big enough to set off an inferno but not enough to win a war.

It was a precarious position they were in, and Ania thought she saw some of that tension on Anj's face as the woman guided them into the secondary hangar beneath Alliance's bow. There wasn't much of a welcoming party, just a few soldiers and a short-haired human who introduced herself as the ship's captain.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Ona Antilles said, though it didn't sound like it. "If you follow me, I'll take you to the admiral."

It was a long ride from the nose of the ship to the command section, and as the lift car whisked them along Anj asked, "Anything fresh from Coruscant?"

"Nothing yet," Antilles shook her head. "You're not our only new arrival, though. Senator Derrol is aboard."

Anj raised both brows. "Good to hear it. How'd he find us?"

"He used to serve on Alliance and still has friends here. He and his wife arrived a few days ago."

Ania had been faintly impressed to hear Derrol was on the run with his wife. She doubted most political spouses had that kind of loyalty.

She was even more impressed when Antilles led them into a conference room behind the bridge. Admiral Bey was here, a big and intimidating Weequay. Both Derrols were present as well. Ania didn't know much about Chagrian aging but the wife looked barely out of her teens. Her husband wasn't much older.

Anj gave the senator a firm handshake. "Good to see you survived. I got worried for a while."

"I'd be a poor soldier if I let some Imps take me down now when I'm needed here." He released her hand and gave more polite shakes to Ania and Azlyn. "Captain Solo. Master Rae. It's an honor to have you aboard."

"It's an honor to be had," Azlyn said, and nodded to Bey. "Thank you, Admiral."

The Weequay nodded back. He seemed relieved to have a politician around to handle niceties. "I appreciate your willingness to travel this far. Now I'd like to know why."

Everyone took a seat before they launched into explanations. Azlyn talked about how she and Ganner had seen the empress being arrested shortly before the explosion and described their escape. Ania told them about the mission to Coruscant and the leads they were following.

Admiral Bey watched it all with a stiff leathery face, and Antilles looked just as skeptical, but Ania noted sparks of hope and maybe enthusiasm from the two Chagrians.

Bey saw it too and said in level tones, "We appreciate what you've done and what you're trying to do. However, I don't see what support you need from the Alliance."

"We won't know until we get a detailed report from Ganner," said Azlyn. "But right now, all we have is a small team of Mandalorians backing Ganner up. We may need more firepower." Ania silently thanked her for leaving her mother out of this.

"There's no certainty the empress is even on Coruscant," said Antilles. "Or that she's alive."

"She's alive. We saw her," Azlyn said firmly. "And we know Chalk has been importing some ysalamiri, and the plants they need for food. He's setting her up for a long-term captivity."

The admiral sighed, "I want to believe you, but the evidence is circumstantial at best. I've never heard of these… ysalamiri creatures."

"Imperial Knights and Jedi don't like to advertise their existence, for obvious reasons."

Almost timidly, Saarai Derrol raised a hand. "I've heard of the creatures before. They do exist." Everyone except her husband shot her a surprised look. She added, "I had an interest in Jedi history once. I studied them before the war."

"Even so," Antilles said, "We still need more."

"And our friends are getting more," said Ania. "We came here to sound you out and see what kind of help you'll be willing to provide."

"I'm not going to commit anything now," said Bey. "I can't, not with so many unknowns to deal with."

"We understand," said Azlyn. "But we'll get more information in coming days. We'd at least like to know up front whether you'd be willing to shelter the empress once we free her."

Ania had been hoping for an immediate yes on that, at least. Instead Bey said, "You understand we're in a precarious position. Admiral Stazi and two of our senators are going to go on trial for murdering the empress."

"And if you can show her in the flesh, that'll tank Chalk's murder case," Ania said.

"Yes, but what then? How Chalk would react?"

"His government would be over. His admirals would never go along with a guy who usurped the rightful empress."

"They did once, with Krayt," Saarai reminded.

"Chalk's no Sith Lord," said Azlyn. "He's just a man, and he can't make them bow like one. And I'm sure the senate wouldn't stand for it."

Bey sighed. "If the empress is alive, and if you rescue her, it will shake Chalk's government so hard it will either collapse, or he'll dissolve the senate and purge all his enemies, violetnyl. He may even execute Stazi without trial. I can't be party to that."

"Whoa, hold on," Ania said, "Marasiah did every damn thing she could to hold the Federation together. She wanted to make it work for Imperials and Alliance both, right?"

"Yes," Bey admitted.

"And now you're just going to leave her hanging because it might jeopardize your guy?" Ania stopped herself before she called him a coward.

"Admiral Stazi kept us, and the Alliance, alive for a decade," Derrol said. "You can't expect us to have the same loyalty to Fel as we do to him."

"We're not asking for that," said Azlyn. "But if we are going to get rid of Chalk, we're not going to do it by fighting old Imperial-Alliance squabbles, right? Stazi knew that. It's why he made a pact with Roan Fel."

The looks shared by the Alliance people were satisfyingly guilty. Bey said, "If the empress can be rescued and needs shelter… I believe we can help."

"Thank you," Azlyn exhaled.

"We'll consider other options as they present themselves." Bey lifted a hand toward the door. "We've prepared amenities where you can rest until then. Captain Antilles, please show them where they can rest."

The captain stood and started for the door. Ania and Azlyn followed, sharing glances as they passed out of the room. It wasn't the start they'd been hoping for, the looks agreed, but for now it would have to do.

-{}-

The door sealed shut behind them, and Anj finally felt free to ask the question on her tongue for the past two minutes.

"Jhoram, are we really just going to leave them hanging in the wind?"

The Derrols looked taken aback by her bluntness, but the admiral smiled. "We're not leaving them hanging. If they can rescue the empress, we'll give her shelter. I just promised that."

"It's a start," the pilot said, "But is that it?" She wanted to tell him he used to be braver as fighter jock and would have if the Derrols weren't watching.

Bey got the message anyway. "I have to make every choice carefully, Anj. The fate of this ship, this fleet, maybe even the Federation depends on it."

"Okay, I get that," Anj calmed herself. "But she's right, you know. If we don't give help, and they fail to rescue the empress because of it, what does that make us? We can't afford to give up on a potential ally, even if there is a risk."

The senator exhaled heavily. "I'd accept an alliance with Fel to take Chalk down, but Stazi, Nelloran, and Kaige could die even if they free her. Except for a bit of luck I'd be with them too."

His wife put a hand over his. "I know you feel a debt to your friends, but there are more important things than them. Saving the empress might be the best chance to save the Alliance."

Derrol looked at her with surprise, which wilted quickly. "You may be right. It's ironic though."

"Too much for my tastes," Bey said. "For now we wait. In the coming days… we'll make our choice."

And then, thought Anj, our choice will make us. One way or another.