A few weeks had passed since the fire dragon met its end. Giselle remained imprisoned in their brig but she hadn't acted out in any way in demanding to be released and has so far, kept to herself. Additionally, no one had even caught on that the fire dragon was dead. Eila surmised that it was likely because the dark elves were more intent on rebuilding their society rather than spreading gossip. It also helped that after RT5 and Lial with his researchers were finished examining the remains including the offspring, the corpses were to be brought back to base for biohazard disposal. They didn't know what kind of effect the rotting carcass of a fire dragon that has a lot of methane as one of its ingredients for projecting fire might do to what is probably only a dormant volcano. They already set off explosions in it, they didn't want to push their luck for an unintentional secondary especially with the dark elves rebuilding nearby.

While Eila usually ignored whatever the researchers sent, she decided to read their report on the fire dragon before it would be transmitted back to Coruscant. The dragon scales were quite durable, on par with the durability of a blast door as she had expected. They did write a proposal in the report to incorporate the strengths of the scales into a new generation of armor for the clones or for Republic starfighters but Eila suspected that like with the research into the Zillo Beast's scales, creating such an armor would likely cost more than it was worth. They would further note the dragon wings and bone structure made it surprisingly nimble in flight and lighter in weight than the dragon looked. Their estimations on the size of the skull also indicated for the researchers that dragons likely had sentience comparable to humans. Ultimately, while Eila thought of their report as an entertaining read, she would sigh in relief that this finally brought the fire dragon chapter to a close.

As for the crystal she sent as soon as she got back, she still hadn't received a report from the Jedi Temple. Despite lacking evidence from back home to support her suspicion, she was starting to believe that she had come across a kyber crystal. She would ask Lelei about them but she got confused over the terminology. Downgrading it to simply asking what the crystals would be used for, Lelei would mention that larger crystals were sought after because they were useful in enhancing magical spells. They were more valuable to mages than regular people.

Because of the crystal being potentially what she thought it would be, Eila began to wonder if people in the Special Region, regardless of magical talent, had the potential to become Jedi. Wishing she had gotten around to it sooner, she began looking over the medical records of the refugees that were first brought to them if any of them had midichlorians. Strangely, the refugees did not have them, even Lelei, Tuka, and Rory who had shown abilities that could be seen as a manipulation of the Force. She found this to be completely unusual since she had been taught by the Jedi Masters that midichlorians were the basis for all life; without them, life couldn't exist. She equally found it strange that she could still affect things in the Special Region with the Force. She had also been taught that without them permeating all things, the Force essentially couldn't touch it. She began to see it that the Force can exist without them and that midichlorians are likely just a material explanation for the existence of the Force. Despite that, whenever that report on the crystal may come and likely confirm her assumption, the Special Region suddenly became more important to the Jedi than first realized.

With the meeting concerning the Empire's Senators, they finally got the details on where and what was to happen. The Galactic Senate planned accordingly and were sending Senators Padme Amidala and Riyo Chuchi. Although with Chuchi, she would be wearing a holographic disguise to conceal her alien appearance. That technology was confiscated and then duplicated from Obi-Wan's infiltration of Cad Bane's gang to kidnap Palpatine the first time around. For the meeting, the Senators from both sides would converse in solidifying a more permanent peace in beginning formal talks and setting up initiatives to deal with the bandit problem. For the troopers coming along, it would also be a weapons demonstration just to further press the need for peace. Although, this was all being set up as a party by Pina and supported by Count Formal to ease the mood of the Empire's Senators.

Another batch of materials that was going to be sent into space for the shipyards came attached with the two Senators. Meeting the Senators at the Gate, Eila welcomed them with a bow, "Senator Amidala, Senator Chuchi." The Senators returned the bow. "Welcome to the Special Region. This is my second." She gestured to Wrench, "For the meeting, we'll be joined by Recon Teams One, Two, and Three led by Major Castle, Lieutenant Evo, and Captain Fordo, respectively." .

Walking to a convoy of BARC speeders and a trio of TX-130s, they all boarded and were ready to get underway to the Imperial Gardens near the Imperial Capital where the meeting was to be held. The journey would roughly take two days. They unfortunately couldn't use the LAATs to get there quicker. They didn't want to surprise the locals who hadn't seen such machines, at least not yet. Eila would task Wrench with governing the base while she was gone. As they pulled out, Eila would catch a glimpse of Lelei, Tuka, and Rory looking saddened that they weren't joining. She hadn't bothered to invite them knowing they would just get bored of the politics. Yao was also with them looking more indifferent to the situation. Eila was particularly glad not to invite her since she would tell her after their fight with the fire dragon that she was now her property by the order of her elders. Much to her embarrassment, Yao pushed to serve her for every little thing from getting more paper for work documents to spoon feeding a meal to her in the commissary despite bluntly telling Yao multiple times that she doesn't want a slave. Still, she insisted because she felt an obligation to Eila for saving her people.

While on their way to the Imperial Capital, Senators Amidala and Chuchi would ask Eila of who they were meeting.

"Well, there's Princess Pina," Eila would begin to explain, "She's the daughter of the current Emperor and has been our liaison. You both unfortunately didn't get to meet her during the Senate hearing because she was with the Vice Chancellor and Master Yoda. But, from our interactions with her, she wants to preserve the Empire and is eager to learn from us to make it stronger."

"Is that wise?" Senator Chuchi questioned, "Wouldn't strengthening the Empire give them an incentive to attack?"

Fordo would speak up since he was in the tank's cabin with them, "Unlikely, Senator. We're giving them knowledge, not equipment in exchange for their cooperation. The research, development, and time they have to put in to apply that knowledge is up to them. Given the current state of the Empire in its pace with technological progress, it will take a very long time for them to be a significant threat to us."

Satisfied with the answer, Chuchi would let Eila continue.

"The next few individuals we'll meet will be new for all of us. The first is a Senator…" Eila would go on to explain the various pro-war, pro-peace, and neutral Senators who would be in attendance and what could be done to convince them in cooperating with the Republic.

Eventually, Eila got to the bump in the road Pina had wrote a two paged, front and back letter to her, "While all of the Senators could probably be convinced in one way or another and some of them backing out might not cause too much concern, there is one individual the Princess would like us to avoid even more than the Emperor."

"And who is that?" Senator Amidala questioned.

"It's her brother. Zorzal El Caesar. He's expected to be the next in line for the throne and from what the Princess wrote to me, he would be very much opposed to our talks."

"Is their anyway to convince him that a peaceful solution is the best for the Empire?" Padme said.

Eila shook her head, "No. Zorzal, in the Princess' words, is an idiotic, stubborn, and hedonistic man who solely believes in the superiority of the Empire and its domination over all the peoples of this world. He will never accept a peace between us since he believes that any concession, no matter how small, is a crippling defeat to the Empire."

"Then what is the point of these talks?" Chuchi said, "A person like that in the position of becoming the next leader can very easily derail the whole peace process and we're back to war again."

Padme would answer Chuchi, "I see. The point of these talks is for them to be done secretly. Convince the most prominent of their Senators who make up their Senate who will then move to convince the less stubborn Emperor in comparison. With such vocal support, the Princess' brother will be contained and the worse he can do is simply complain about the peace, maybe convince others to cause chaos. But that chaos would have to be resolved under the Empire's jurisdiction unless it spills to us. Still, even if he were to become the next leader, he cannot act unilaterally without his Senate. If he tries to disband the Senate to push war, he will turn the people against him."

Eila simply gave a quick nod as she would agree with the majority of the people in the Republic that Senator Amidala was the best at what she does in the Galactic Senate.

After two days of travel, the faint burning torches illuminating the buildings of the Imperial Capital came into view against the night sky. At this point, Eila would request that Senator Chuchi put on the holographic disguise, just in case they ran into any Imperials who would obviously be suspicious of alien looking humanoids. Chuchi's blue skin, light purple hair, and gold eyes would be replaced with tanned skin, black hair, and brown eyes. Following Pina's instructions when they got there, the convoy would enter through the back of the Imperial Gardens; away from prying eyes.

Meeting Pina in the rear of the palace overlooking the Gardens, Eila would introduce Padme and Chuchi to her. Pina would attempt to explain who they were going to meet for tomorrow's meeting but Eila stopped her, having already explained it to them. Eila would slip Pina a holoprojector for communication just so she didn't have to send parchments anymore to talk. Pina thanked her and directed the Senators to their quarters for the night. Once the Senators were gone, Eila would converse with her men on what they were to do before being shown their rooms.

"Alright," She began, "For tonight, four troopers on watch around the perimeter. Four hour rotation. As for tomorrow, Teams One and Two, you're on security and surveillance detail. Team Three, you're doing the demonstrations. Now, Teams One and Two, if you see a contingent of Imperial soldiers, bandits or these men," She pulled out her holoprojector showing a rendition of Zorzal and Molt, based off their portraits in the building, "Do not engage, just report it immediately. We'll all pack up and help in the evacuation of all the Senators. The details of what are to be said in this meeting must be kept secret from the rest of the Empire for now."

"All?" Fick would speak up, "Why all the Senators? Why not just ours?"

"Again, this is supposed to be a secret. Those Senators are essential to the peace process. The actions of the Empire's Senators could be seen as treasonous so we have to hide them from people who would be opposed to all this until they are ready to act."

"What's the evacuation point?" Zipper would talk next.

"Akusho. The Imperial Capital's 'red light district'."

"What's that? What's a 'red light district'?"

"I—It's…" Eila fidgeted in trying to explain. She had seen and had avoided plenty of these back on Coruscant. "I—It's where people go for…secret encounters of an…intimate nature."

"Oh!" Hoot spoke up, "You mean where people go, uh-uh?" He vaguely imitated a thrusting action.

The other troopers groaned but Fordo would sternly tell him, "Maintain discipline, trooper." Hoot immediately clammed up.

"S—Still, you are right, Hoot. We've chosen that district because the Imperial guards rarely patrol the area. It's the perfect place to sneak the Empire's Senators back into the Capital without arousing suspicion. It also helps that we've established a foothold base there."

"A base?" Fordo questioned, "Who did that?"

A few weeks ago…

"Target building in sight."

"Copy that. Building is supposed to be empty but I'm detecting heat signatures."

"Hmph! Scratch another one for intel."

"Lock it up! Let's go introduce ourselves, kids."

Four clone commandos approached what was supposed to be an empty brothel in the dead of night. They had been discreetly dropped near the Imperial Capital on Eila's orders. What they didn't know, was that Eila got the idea from Fordo as a means to enhance their intelligence on the Empire and as a safehouse given that the Republic was interacting with the Empire more closely. They had to be ready for contingencies. Stacking up by the door, the leader of Lancer Squad, Click, placed a small breaching charge on the knob of the thick wooden door.

"On my signal."

Readying himself and his squad, Click set off the charge. A small concentrated blast swung the door open and the commandos quickly entered the room. What they would see inside were cages filled with numerous women of varying types. Some were regular humans, others had animal-like characteristics, and another bunch had a near-human appearance. They were all startled by the blast but none of them screamed, only some whimpering.

"Great. A stinking slave market."

"Quiet, Rook. Secure the building. Keep an eye out for hostiles." Click ordered.

Two commandos would go up the stairs while Click and Rook checked the rest of the first floor. The building had three floors. While one commando began searching the second, the other went up to the third. In the middle of checking the rooms on the third floor, the commando was rushed from behind by someone.

"What the hell?!" The commando shouted.

Whoever it was, the person was clinging to his pack. Unable to grab his assailant, the commando slammed his back against the wall, crushing his attacker who fell to the floor. His fellow squadmates rushed up the stairs.

"Korg! You alright!" Click said as he and the others approached him.

"I'm good, sir. Just a Gungan on my back."

The commandos would look down to see a man with a dagger. The man also had a whip, coiled on his belt.

"Looks like I found the slave master." Korg said.

"How did he get past the heat scan?" Rook questioned.

"He must have been with the slaves during the scan then he got startled by the breaching charge and ran up the stairs." The last clone commando explained. He would bend down to check the man.

"Well, Jox?" Click said.

"He's dead. Crushed sternum and rib cage."

The commandos were hardly apologetic that they had killed the man even if they had intended to beat some information out of any hostiles they found in the building. He attacked a commando and Korg responded exactly as a clone commando should in the same situation. Going back downstairs, Rook would ask what were they going to do with the slaves held in the cages.

"Cut'em loose." Click ordered.

"Is that a good idea, sir? They might give away our position." Rook said.

"You want to take care of them?"

"Cutting them loose."

Rook, Korg, and Jox would blast off the padlocks on the cages with their DC-17Ms. The occupants would be startled by the blasts as they backed themselves into a corner. They were already quite frightened that a group of large armored men had entered the brothel. They feared they were about to be taken and have all sorts of unspeakable things done to them. Luckily for them, the commandos intended no such thing and were encouraging the slaves to simply run away. Almost all of them would take the commandos' offer, sprinting out immediately.

Only one stayed behind for a moment. A young dog girl. She walked up to Click and shakily said, "T—T—Thank you, armor man." Click gave a quick nod and the girl ran out like the others.

"Aww, that was sweet." Rook lightly mocked.

"Shut up and get the gear out. This is going to be our home away from home."

Several days later…

Lancer Squad was in a tight spot. There was a mob of gangsters that had quietly assembled themselves outside the brothel in the night. Click though hardly felt that they were in any serious trouble. He hadn't even bothered to call Eila that they might need help. They had set up the building to look as if it continued to be unoccupied but obviously the gangsters knew it wasn't. Ready to just start mowing the intruders down just to be done with it, one of them began calling out in a loud, booming voice,

"Oh, armor man! You costed me a lot of slaves! You'll pay for it with you and your friends lives! Here's the first payment!"

One of them would drag out the dog girl who had thanked them. She struggled at the gangster holding her by the hair as the commandos could see she had been badly beaten.

"Let go of me!" The girl screamed. She managed to wiggle enough that the man got careless in handling her. Seeing an opportunity, she bit her handler's hand forcing him to release his grip on her. She tried to run to the commandos. Unfortunately, she didn't get very far as she would be impaled through the back with a sword and then swiftly decapitated.

"That's what the little bitch gets!" The man yelled. The gangsters cheered as the man held up the girl's head like a trophy and then threw it at the building.

"Damn animals." Jox muttered.

Not wanting to waste his breath in even threatening them, especially with that disgusting display, Click ordered for his squad to fire. Click made sure that the man who killed the girl would be the first one dead. Sharp blue bolts instantly began riddling the gangsters. Korg had switched to the anti-armor grenade launcher attachment and was lobbing rounds at the concentrated group of men. It didn't take long before almost all of the gangsters had been wiped out with the few survivors scattering; screaming that the gods were attacking. Soon enough, it was quiet again.

Convening together on the first floor, Click congratulated his men, "Good work, kids. This is our warning. Leave their bodies to rot." He took a short pause before softly going on, "Let's bring the girl inside. Give her a proper sendoff."

The others quietly agreed and walked out to get the girl. From then on, they wouldn't be bothered by anyone at all as the stink of rotting flesh caused everyone to avoid area.

Present…

The next day, the party Pina had sent up was in full swing. The Empire's Senators and their consorts were enjoying themselves with Count Formal's servants catering to their whims. Seeing that enough time had passed after a few hours, Pina managed to lure the Senators away from the party and move them towards RT3 who was going to provide a demonstration of why peace would favor the Empire better.

"Blast them!" Fordo ordered.

RT3 riddled an assorted line of target posts fitted with the Imperial military's armor. All of them would be reduced to molten slag. The Senators stood shocked at the power of blasters, imagining the horrific and painful deaths their soldiers went through. While some of them wanted to ask Fordo how much they needed to pay for the weapons, one of the pro-war Senator's remained unmoved.

"Ha! Killing a stationary line of targets is hardly impressive." The Senator said, though he was simply trying to keep up a brave facade.

Not responding to the Senator's jab, Fordo directed the group's attention to a formation of reprogrammed B1 Battle Droids painted in blue markings that had been assembled some distance away from them. Some of the Senators would comment on the existence of machine soldiers.

"Droids, scatter yourselves and advance on our position." Fordo ordered on his comlink.

"Roger, roger!" They responded.

Asking the Senators to use the macrobinoculors they'd been given, they would see the droids spread out in which in a battle situation, it would make it harder to take them all down quickly.

Observing that they had spread themselves out well enough, Fordo would tap on his comlink to call on a different frequency, "Okay, Captain. They're all yours."

While continuing to stare at the droids slowly getting closer to them, the Senators began to wonder why they were hearing a growing whine. The droids were wondering about it too as they looked at each other, unaware that they were about to meet a quick end.

"Should we run at them faster?" One of the droids proposed to its comrades.

Suddenly, the Senators would be startled by a sudden gust of wind and having their field of view becoming filled with explosions as a LAAT flew from behind them firing its rockets. Once the LAAT finished its attack run, the remaining droids that had escaped the first barrage would be instantly flattened as a duo of Y-Wings would come in from the side and drop their bombs setting the whole field ablaze and vaporizing the remaining droids. The resulting shockwaves and tremors also startled them heavily.

"Thanks for the support, Koll." Fordo would say to his comlink in which Koll would acknowledge.

The Senator who had scoffed earlier merely watched in horror as he and the other Senators could only gawk at the devastation the Republic had access to. Fordo would imply further that flying machines with rockets weren't the only things the Republic can use in a war. Almost instantly, the Senators who weren't pro-peace before were seriously reconsidering their positions. The already pro-peace Senators looked on grimly as that display reinforced their belief in pursuing peace. Pina would approach them, having seen the demonstration from a distance as well as their shocked expressions.

"Princess!" One of the Senators called, "What is it?! W—What does the Republic want?!"

Seeing that the demonstration had been effective, Pina would lead the Senators to Padme and Chuchi who had been patiently waiting in the conference room of the palace, away from the partying guests. All of them took a seat as Padme began with introducing herself.

"I am Senator Padme Amidala of the planet, Naboo and this is my fellow associate, Senator Riyo Chuchi of the planet, Pantora. On behalf of the Galactic Republic, we appreciate that you have all agreed to this meeting."

"Planets? Naboo and Pantora?" One of the Senators questioned aloud, "You two are aliens?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Chuchi answered, "Humans occupy numerous worlds in the Galactic Republic but there are other species of humanoids in our galaxy. Senator Amidala is human herself but I am one of the other humanoid species in my galaxy."

"You're not human?" Another Senator said as he scrutinized her appearance.

"Yes. In fact, why don't I just show you." Chuchi removed her holographic disguise and reverted to her former colors.

The Senators recoiled at the sudden change. Putting her disguise back on, another Senator began to fearfully say of what kind of witchcraft had he just witnessed.

Pina spoke up, "It is technology, Senator Moltose. The 'magic' the Republic possesses is simply an advancement of their science. They have a broader understanding of the nature of the universe and I am hoping we can be a part of that."

"Knowledge, then. Is that what you want from this meeting, Princess?" Senator Cicero La Moltose, a prominent pro-war Senator, said.

"Partially yes, Senator Moltose. If you were to think of it selfishly, imagine if we had the technology the Republic possess. The Empire would remain strong for the millennia to come. But the Republic doesn't only have advanced war machines or the device Senator Chuchi has. They also have vast net of, what was it, digitized information, medical and communications technology, and much more. The medical technology they have alone is just as effective as a healing spell from a mage or elf and their communications allow for instant dialogue over vast distances"

Senator Moltose considered that offer. That knowledge would certainly solve a lot of domestic headaches plaguing the regions they held dominion over. Although, he wondered about what would be the price for that knowledge. Turning to Padme and Chuchi, he would ask that question.

"With help from Count Formal of Italica, we have reached the sum we expect in compensation for the Empire's expedition." Padme said as she passed a note to Cicero.

Reading the note, he burst out, "Are you insane?! The Empire doesn't have that kind of money!" Wondering what got Cicero all riled up, Pina took the note and would be equally shocked at the sum but ultimately understood that it was expected to be high. The Senators would all get a peek at the note and began expressing their disbelief.

"Our economy will surely collapse!"

"This is a joke, right? A joke?"

"A very bad one if you ask me."

"Burning down the Empire ourselves would be cheaper."

Padme would try to calm them down, "Senators, please. While the amount we are asking for is above your market's current capacity to fulfill, our Senate has agreed that the amount is to be fixed. That means it will be unaffected by inflation or depression and the sum will steadily reduce in paying it with no further increases. The compensation we're asking for doesn't need to be paid all at once. It also doesn't have to be a solely monetary exchange. You can also pay off the debt with trade goods such as your industrial capacity to process raw materials that can be traded. This is also not just a one way transaction. As mentioned, we will exchange knowledge with you but also materials of a non-military nature to improve the living conditions of your people such as medicine for your cooperation."

The Senators began grumbling among themselves that the terms weren't really as bad as they had imagined it to be despite the astronomical price but they were also in a position where they couldn't really resist. An unwinnable war or a beneficial peace. It was a simple choice. Turning back to Padme, Cicero would reluctantly agree on behalf of the others.

"Terrific!" Padme said, "With your agreement to these terms, we will correspondingly release the Imperial soldiers we have in custody on each payment."

Cicero nodded. He had been privy to seeing who exactly was on the POW list and saw his son's name. The fact that his son had been captured didn't bother him much. He was simply happy his son was alive rather than worrying about honor on the battlefield.

"We will bring this to the Emperor for his consideration and strongly emphasize the need to accept it. Hopefully, this will also formalize these talks to cement a peace." Cicero concluded.

Just as the Senators seemed to think they were finished, Chuchi would say, "There is one more matter. We would also like our citizens who were captured during the Empire's expedition to be returned to us as soon as possible."

The Senators mumbled among themselves as they actually didn't have a good idea where some of those citizens had gone. Cicero would explain the situation to them, "Well, Senator Chuchi, we would be more than willing to give back your citizens after all of this but unfortunately, we don't really know where some of them have gone."

"How could you not know?" Chuchi questioned.

"Unfortunately, the Empire has had a habit of maintaining poor records. But after your citizens were presented to the Emperor after the expedition, they were escorted away. Some did end up as attendants to our fellow Senators and to the nobility. They will have to be convinced to give them up. As for the others, we do not know what happened to them. They likely could have been sold as slaves."

Chuchi grimaced at the plight of their people but Padme would try to comfort her by placing her hand on Chuchi's shoulder as she would say, "I understand, Senator. Please do your best to track our people down so we can put away all of this tragedy behind us."

Acknowledging their need, Cicero stood up to leave seeing there wasn't more to discuss. Before he and the other Senators could return to the party however, Eila entered the room.

"Senators," She bowed but also eyed Padme and Chuchi, "Please come with me, we'll be escorting you out of the Imperial Gardens and back to the Capital."

While the Empire's Senators were confused at why they were being taken, Padme would question Eila, "What's wrong, General?"

"A certain individual is approaching the Gardens and we can't have that individual see you or the other Senators."

Understanding the situation, Padme helped the others along to follow while trying to convince them that they weren't getting abducted and that the guests they brought with them will be unharmed in leaving them. Pina would ask Eila if that individual was who she thought it would be.

"Yes, Princess. It's your brother."

Sighing wearily knowing that this moment was a long time coming, Pina would beg for Eila to stay with her for emotional support. While the clones and the Senators made a discreet getaway back to the Capital, they would both be greeted by Zorzal and his entourage at the garden.

"Well, well, well!" He would shout, "What an impressive party that I wasn't invited to!"

"Brother! This party is for…mostly women! You would find it uninteresting." Pina would try to deflect.

"Oh, dear sister! There's no need to lie to me. Where are the Senators?"

Trying not to show any shock and finding Eila's presence comforting that she wasn't facing her brother alone, she confidently answered, "Who would tell you such a bold claim, brother?"

"Oh, a little fat bird told me. Besides, a party full of beautiful women! You wound me, sister."

"Well, the are no Senators here. I haven't seen them."

Pina realized that the Internal Minister, Marcus, had likely told him about the Senators since she now noticed that Marcus always seemed to be around in opportune moments whenever she had approached the Senators to discuss the talks before. It became obvious to her that her brother was here to catch the Senators in the act of talking with the Republic. Not wanting to openly accuse her, Zorzal took her word at face value and guessed that the Senators were already gone. His attention would be drawn away to one of his men making an accusation.

"You!" The man said.

"What is it, Helm?" He asked.

"This woman is one of those Republic swine! She was the one who captured us!" Helm pointed at Eila.

She showed no emotion to the man's accusation. But she scolded herself that she had forgotten that Zorzal's entourage consisted of the nobles she and her troopers had captured during the Uscru incident and were the first released with Count Formal after they returned from Coruscant.

"You have a lot of nerve to show your face to us, bitch!" Helm threatened as he drew his sword.

She frowned slightly at Helm but moved her robe so he could see her lightsaber. He hesitated at the sight of it, remembering the humiliation he suffered.

"Pfft!" He scoffed, "Without that fancy blade of yours, you'd be nothing!" He sheathed his sword.

Somewhat confused at Helm's statement and why he backed down, Zorzal would evaluate Eila's appearance. He would think to himself that she would look better out of her robes.

"Ha! Ha!" He laughed at his entourage and made a jab at them, "So this is the one who captured the lot of you! No shame in being captured by someone that beautiful, boys!" Turning back to her, he continued, "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Crown Prince Zorzal El Caesar and you are?" He took Eila's hand, kissed it, and waited for a response.

Trying to put on a cheery face but somewhat disgusted by his gesture, she would answer, "General Eila Deova of the Grand Army of the Republic. A pleasure, Prince Zorzal." She tried to remove any sarcasm from her tone just so that he wouldn't feel offended.

"Ooh! A General!" He said, not detecting any hints, "I see you've become acquainted with my dear half sister. I wonder why she invited you here given that you qualify as an enemy combatant, no?"

"Well, yes. But, Princess Pina invited me to try to bring a peace between the Republic and the Empire. She claimed I would have diplomatic immunity for our talks. Her devotion to the Empire is admirable. I wouldn't expect less from royalty. I'll make sure the terms of any agreement are to the Empire's liking."

"I see." He smugly smiled at her, "Well, enjoy your stay with us, General."

'Enjoy it while you can.' He maliciously thought.

"Oh!" He perked up, "We'll just take some things to satisfy ourselves with. Maybe we'll throw a little party of our own." He would direct his group to take some of the prepared food. He felt disappointed that he hadn't caught the Senators in the act of conspiring with the enemy but he wanted to at least take something from them out of spite. Although, he was bothered at Eila's claim of diplomatic immunity.

Promptly leaving after taking all the foods that interested him, Pina ecstatically shook Eila's hands. "Thank you, General! Thank you!" She said, "I thought that would easily turn ugly but you took on my brother like it was nothing! I should have you around whenever I talk to him!"

Feeling a little embarrassed with the her praise, Eila had deduced Pina's earlier line of thinking that her brother had come to catch the Senators and then use the resulting incident to gain favor with the other pro-war Senators who hadn't come to escalate the war. They had dodged a potentially destabilizing incident.

Arriving in Akusho, Fordo would knock on the door of the brothel he had been told was the observation base. Fortunately, someone had cleaned out the dead bodies by this point. Some of the people who occupied the area previously had returned since they didn't have a home anywhere else so they took on the job of cleaning the neighbourhood up. But there was still a bit of a smell that kept the place sparsely populated. Ignoring that faint stench of rotting flesh, he knocked twice, and would hear a clone's voice call out.

"Corellia." The voice said.

He understood this to be a countersign. "Garsmelt." He responded. Hearing the clicking of a bunch of locks, he would be greeted by a clone commando.

"Ahh, if it isn't the ARC trooper." The commando sarcastically said.

"Oh great, you guys." Fordo countered, "Do you have the rides ready for the Empire's Senators, or not, Click?"

"Yeah, yeah. I sent out one of our contacts. She's already come back that the Senators' chauffeurs will be here in a bit to take them the rest of the way."

Bringing out the Senators from the tank, Fordo asked them to wait with the commandos until their rides came to pick them up. Major Castle was already taking the initiative to take Senator Amidala and Chuchi back to base with his team and back to Coruscant as the two Senators had to report on the progress made to the Senate and had to deal with other obligations back home. LAATs would meet them to take back home faster once the Capital was out of sight.

Waving at them as they left, Fordo sighed as he didn't like the thought of having to stay with the commandos for a while. He really wanted to avoid this since ARC troopers and clone commandos never really got along that well together. Luckily for him, Eila called on the comms and would tell him that Zorzal was gone and that Pina had graciously offered some of the rooms in the Imperial Palace for them to stay for the night. Feeling quite cheerful he didn't have to spend the night with the commandos, Fordo happily obliged and brought his team with him while ordering Recon Team Two to stay behind to watch the Senators and then act as support for the commandos once they were gone. Arriving at Pina's home, Eila questioned where the other two teams went.

"RT1 went back to base with Senators Amidala and Chuchi. And I ordered RT2 to support the commandos in Akusho."

Eila nodded along, "Well, alright I guess. The rest of us will all be going home anyway tomorrow. Only the commandos are going to stay behind."

Fordo smiled smugly under his helmet that the commandos were at least going to be out of the way.

Author's Note: I'm back again with another chapter but there will be gaps in-between updates from now on. I've slowed down in writing this but I still intend to continue. Sorry.