Peregrin's Nest - The Headquarters Building Lounge

"Tangrene was our real crowning achievement," Senator Bel-Iblis said, draining the last of his glass and raising it high above his head. Across the expansive bu largely empty headquarters lounge, the bartender nodded in silent acknowledgement and busied himself with his drinks dispenser. "We'd been sniping at the Imperials for probably three years at that point - hitting small bases and military supply shipments and generally making as much trouble for them as we could. But up till Tangrene, they weren't paying much attention to us."

"What happened at Tangrene?" asked Han.

"We blasted a major Ubiqtorate center into fine powder;" explained the Senator, clearly very pleased and proud of it. "And then waltzed out right under the collective nose of the three Star Destroyers that were supposed to be guarding the place. I think that was when they finally woke up to the fact that we were more than just a minor irritant - that we were a group to be taken seriously."

Han shook his head in admiration and chuckled. "I'll bet they did. What did it cost you?"

"Amazingly enough, we got all five warships out," Bel Iblis said. "There was a fair amount of damage all around, of course, and one of them was completely out of commission for nearly seven months, but it was worth it."

"I thought you said you had six Dreadnaughts;" said Lando suddenly. He had been mostly quiet the whole time.

"We have six now," Bel-Iblis nodded, "At the time, we only had five."

"Ah;" replied Lando before lapsing back into his silence.

After a very brief pause, Han asked, "So after that was when you started moving your base around?"

After another moment of eyeing Lando, Bel-Iblis answered, "That was when mobility became a top priority, yes;" he corrected. Though we hadn't exactly been sitting still before that. This place is, what, our thirteenth location in seven years, Sena?"

"Fourteenth;" Sena corrected, "That's if you count Womrik and Mattri asteroid bases."

"Fourteen, then;" Bel-Iblis nodded. "You probably noticed that every building here is built of bi-state memory plastic. Makes it relatively simple to fold everything up and toss it aboard the transports. Though that's been known to backfire on us;" he chuckled. "Once on Lelmra, we got hit by a violent thunderstorm, and the lightning strikes were hitting so close to us that the edge currents triggered the flip-flop on a couple of barracks buildings and a targeting center. folded them up neat as a set of birthday presents with nearly fifty people inside."

"That was terrific fun," Sena said dryly. "No one was killed, fortunately, but it took us the better part of the night to cut them all free. With the storm still blazing around us."

"Things finally quieted down just before daylight," Bel-Iblis said, "and we were out of there by the next evening. Ah."

The bartender had arrived with the next round of drinks. Twistlers, Bel-Iblis had called them - a blend of Corellian brandy with some unidentified but very tart fruit extract. Not the sort of drink Han would have expected to find in a military camp, but not bad either. The senator took two of the drinks of the tray and handed them to Sena and Gan and took the other off for himself and Lando. "I'm still good, thanks;" said Lando, holding up a forestalling hand.

Han frowned across the table at his friend. Lando was sitting stiffly in his lounge chair, his face impassive, his glass still half full. His first glass, Han realized suddenly - Lando hadn't had a refill in the hour and a half since Bel-Iblis had brought them there. He caught Lando's eye, raised his eyebrows fractionally. Lando looked back at him, his eyes still stony before dropping his gazing a taking a small sip of his drink.

"It was about a month after Tangrene," Bel-Iblis went on, "that we first met Borsk Fey'lya."

Han turned back to him, feeling a twitch of guild. He'd gotten so wrapped up in Bel-Iblis's storytelling that he'd completely forgotten why he and Lando had set off on this mission in the first place. Probably that was what had Lando glaring crushed ice in his direction. "Yeah - Fey'lya," her murmured, eyeing Bel-Iblis carefully, "what's your deal with him?"

Bel-Iblis gave a thin smile. "Considerably less of a deal than he'd like, I assure you. Fey'lya did us some favors during the war years, and he seems to think we should be more grateful for them."

"What sort of favors?" asked Lando.

"Small ones;" answered Bel-Iblis. "Early on, he helped us set up a supply line through New Cov, and he whistled up some Star Cruisers once when the Imperials started nosing around the system at on awkward moment. He and some of the other Bothans also shifted various funds to us, which enabled us to buy equipment sooner than we otherwise would have. That sort of thing."

"So how grateful are you?" asked Lando, making no attempt to hide exactly what he meant by the question.

Bel-Iblis locked eyes with him and gave a small smile. "Or in other words, what exactly does Fey'lya want from me?"

Lando didn't return the cool smile. "That'll do for starters;" he said simply.

Han glared at him. "Lando-"

"No that's alright;" said Bel-Iblis, his own smile fading. "Before I answer, though, I'd like you to tell me about the New Republic hierarchy - Mon Mothma's position in the new government, Fey'lya's relationship to her, that sort of thing."

Han shrugged. "That's pretty much public record."

"That's the official version," replied Bel-Iblis, "I'm asking what things are really like."

Han glanced over at Lando. "I don't understand."

Bel-Iblis took another swallow of his twistler. "Well, then, let me be more direct;" he said, studying the remaining liquid in his glass. "What is Mon Mothma really up to?"

Han began to feel a hot trickle of anger in his throat. "Is that what Breil'lya told you?" he demanded, his face darkening, "That she's 'up to something'?"

Bel-Iblis raised his eyes over the rim of his glass. "This has nothing to do with the Bothans;" he said quietly. "It's about Mon Mothma. Period."

Han looked back at him, corralling his confusion and attempting to collect his thoughts. In truth, there were quite a few things that he didn't like about Mon Mothma. He hated how she ran Leia, pregnant as she was, off her feet on all of these diplomatic missions and what not and not allowing Leia to attend to her Jedi training. But the truth was, when you came right down to it... "As far as I know," he told Bel-Iblis evenly, "the only thing she's trying to do is put together a new government."

"With herself at the head?" demanded Bel-Iblis.

Han's anger was beginning to return. "Shouldn't she be?"

A shadow of some unidentifiable emotion crossed the former-senator's face and he looked down at his drink. "I suppose it was inevitable;" he murmured quietly. For a long moment, he was silent before looking up and mustering his previous mood. "So you'd say that you're becoming a Republic in fact as well as in name?"

"I'd say that, yeah;" said Han. "What does this have to do with Fey'lya?"

"It's Fey'lya's belief that Mon Mothma wields altogether too much power;" Bel-Iblis explained. "I presume you'd disagree with that assessment?"

Han hesitated, considering the situation before shrugging, "I don't know, but she certainly isn't running the whole show, like she did during the war."

"The war's still going on;" commented Bel-Iblis

"What does Fey'lya think ought to be done about it?" ask Lando.

Bel-Iblis's lips lifted ever so slightly at the corners. "Oh, he has some rather personal and highly unsurprising ideas about the reapportionment of power. But that's Bothans for you. Give them a sniff of the soup pot and they climb all over each other to be in charge of the ladle."

"Especially when they can claim to have been valuable allies to the winning side;" Lando said, all but glaring at the senator. "Unlike others I could mention."

Bel-Iblis waved to Sena, preventing her from saying anything, electing instead to answer himself. "You're wondering why I didn't join the Alliance," he said calmly, "why I chose instead to run my own private war against the Empire."

"That's right, I am;" said Lando, his tone just as cool and calm as Bel-Iblis's

They locked eyes, continuing to measure one another. "I could give several reason why I felt it was better for us to remain independent," he said. "Security, for one. There was a great deal of communication going on between various units of the Alliance, with a correspondingly large potential for interception of that information by the Empire. For a while it seemed like every fifth Rebel Base was being lost to the Imperials through sheer sloppiness in security."

"We had some problems;" Han conceded. "But they've been pretty well fixed."

"Have they?" countered the senator, "What about this information leak I understand you have right in the Imperial Palace?"

"Yeah, we know it's there;" said Han, feeling just slightly defensive. "We have our best assets working on it right now."

"Yes, I know;" chuckled Bel-Iblis. "And no doubt she'll figure it out but this Delta source, if our interception of Imperial communiques is anything to go by, reports directly to the Grand Admiral. Even your... special investigator has her work cut out for her."

Han's eyes narrowed. "How the hell do you-" but Bel-Iblis cut him off with a smile. "Never you mind, Solo. But you don't need to worry about her."

Both Lando and Han were glaring at him now and the former all but growled. "Okay, security. Let's hear some other reasons."

"I'll be more than happy to continue to list them;" said Bel-Iblis, his own countenance hardening. "when I feel the time is right. But right now, I have other duties to attend to. It's getting late and I know you really haven't had time to relax since landing. Irenez has had your baggage taken to a vacant officers' efficiency back toward the landing pad. It's small, I'm afraid, but I trust you'll find it comfortable enough."

He stood to his feet. "Perhaps later over dinner, we can continue this discussion."

Han and Lando were both glaring at him as they stood. "Fine;" growled Han, "and maybe you'll explain how you know who you claim to know."

"That's not for me to tell, Solo;" said Bel-Iblis. "When you get home, you can ask her yourself. I'll need Sena with me, but we'll point you in the direction of your quarters on our way out. Unless you'd rather I assign you a guide."

"We can find it;" Han assured him.

"All right. Someone will come and get you for dinner. Until later, then."

They were probably half way to their quarters when Lando murmured, "You want to go ahead and get it over with?"

"Get what over with?" growled Han.

"Chewing me out for not bowing and scraping in front of your pal the Senator;" Lando replied, "do it and get it over with because we have to talk."

Han kept his eyes straight forward. "You weren't just not bowing and scraping, pal;" he said but there wasn't much heat to his retort. "But he knows a lot about the Alliance and New Republic. Of course, that could be Fey'lya."

"Well I'm glad we're on the same page;" said Lando. "and I'm very interested to know how he knows about Mara. I mean, it's common knowledge that she specializes in investigation and all but he knew pretty quickly that Mara was on this."

"Fey'lya could have told him that;" said Han, shrugging. "You were a little antagonistic though. What was it that had you so irritated before I was?"

"Because he was lying, Han;" said Lando, "or at least, he's not telling the whole truth."

"Your point?" asked Han, "Why should he tell two strangers anything but what he wants to."

"He brought us here;" countered Lando, "why do that and then lie to us about it?"

Han frowned and glanced at his friends face, only just then noticing the tension lines. Something here was seriously worrying Lando. "Alright, what do you think he lied about?"

"The camp for starters;" said Lando. "Bel-Iblis said they moved around a lot - fourteen times in the last seven years, remember? But this place has been here for longer than half a year."

Han looked around at the pre-fab structures - searching for the tell-tale signs of wear at the joints in the memory plastic or at the bases where they met the foundations. None of it was visible. "There are other things, too," Lando sent on. "That headquarters lounge back there - did you notice all the decoration they had in that place? Probably a dozen sculptures scattered around on those ledges between the booths, plus a lot of light poles. And that doesn't even count all the stuff on the walls. There was a whole antique repeater display panel mounted over the main bar, a ship's crhono next to the exit-"

"I was there too, remember?" Han said, beginning to sound irritated again, "what's your point?"

"My point is that this place isn't ready to pack up and ship offplanet on three minutes notice;" said Lando. "Not anymore. And you don't get this soft and comfortable if you're still in the business of launching major attacks against Imperial bases."

"Maybe they decided to lie low for awhile;" said Han, beginning to feel decidedly uncomfortable about having to defend Bel-Iblis.

"Could be;" murmured Lando, "In that case, the question is why? What else could he be holding his ships and troops back for?"

Han chewed at the inside of his cheek. He saw where Lando was going with this. "You think he's made a deal with Fey'lya."

"That's the obvious answer," Lando agreed soberly. "You heard how he talked about Mon Mothma, like he expected her to declare herself Emperor any day now. Fey'lya's influence?"

Han considered it. The more Lando talked, the less crazy he sounded - though if Fey'lya really thought that he could stage a coup with six private dreadnoughts, he was in for a rude surprise. But on the other hand, some things simply didn't make sense. "Wait a minute, Lando, this is crazy. If they're plotting against Mon Mothma, why bring us here?"

Lando hissed slightly between his teeth. "Well that brings us to the worst-case scenario, Han old buddy. Namely, that your friend the senator is a complete phony and what we've got here is a giant Imperial scam."

Han blinked in surprise, "Okay, now you've lost me."

"Think about is," Lando urged, lowering his voice as a group of uniformed men rounded a corner of one of the building and headed off in the other direction. "Garm Bel-Iblis, supposedly killed, suddenly returned from the dead? And not only alive, but with his own personal army on top of it? An army that neither of us has ever heard of?"

"Yeah, but Bel Iblis wasn't exactly a recluse;" Han pointed out, "there were a lot of holos and recordings of him when he was growing up. you'd have to go to a lot of effort to look and sound that much like him."

"If you had those records handy to compare him with, sure," Lando agreed, "But all you've got is memories. It wouldn't take that much to rig a fairly close copy. And we know that this base has been sitting here for more than a year. Maybe abandoned by someone else and it wouldn't take much effort to throw a fake army together. Not for the Empire."

"You're skating on drive trails, Lando. The Empire's not going to go to this much effort just for us."

"Maybe they didn't;" countered Lando, "Maybe it was for Fey'lya's benefit, and we just happened to stumble on it?"

"Fey'lya's benefit?"

"Sure;" said Lando, "Start with the Empire gimmicking Ackbar's bank account. That puts Ackbar under suspicion and ripe for someone to push him off his perch. Enter Fey'lya, convinced that her's got the support of the legendary Garm Bel-Iblis and a private army behind him. Fey'lya makes his bid for power, the New Republic Hierarchy is thrown into a tangle; and while no one's watching, the Empire moves in and takes back a sector or two. Quick, clean and simple."

"That's what you call simple, huh?" snorted Han.

"Dealing with Grand Admiral Thrawn, anything is possible, Han."

"Yeah, well possible doesn't mean likely and if they're running a con game, why would they bring us here?"

"Why not?" countered the other, "Our presence doesn't hurt the plan any. Might even help it a little. They us the setup, send us back, we blow the whistle on Fey'lya, and Mon Mothma pulls back ships to protect Coruscant from a coup attempt that never materializes. More chaos and even more unprotected sectors for the Imperial to gobble up."

Han shook his head. "I think you're jumping at shadows."

"Maybe; and maybe you're putting too much trust in the ghost of a Corellian Senator."

They had reached their quarters now, one of a double row of small square buildings each about five meters on a side. Han keyed in the lock combination Sena had given the and they went inside.

The apartment was about as stark and simple as it could be while still remaining even halfway functional. It consisted of a single room with a compact cooking niche on one side and a door leading to what was probably a fresher on the other. A brown table/console combo and two old-fashioned contour chairs upholstered with military gray occupied much of the space, with the cabinets of what looked to be two fold-down beds position to take up the table's share of the floor space at night. "Cozy;" commented Lando.

"Probably can be packed up and shipped offplanet on three minutes' notice, too," said Han.

"I agree;" murmured Lando, "this is exactly the sort of feel that lounge should have had, only it didn't."

"Maybe they figured they ought to have at least one building around here that didn't look like it came out of the Clone Wars;" Han suggested.

"Maybe," Lando said, squatting down beside on of the chairs and peering at the edge of the seat cushion. "Probably pulled them out of that Dreadnought up there."

Experimentally, he dug his fingers under the gray material. "Looks like they didn't even add any extra padding before they reupholstered them with this-"

He broke off and abruptly, his face wen rigid. "What is it?" Han asked.

"This chair;" said Lando, his voice shaking slightly, "It's not gray underneath. It's blue-gold."

"Okay, so?" asked Han with a confused frown.

"You don't understand;" replied Lando, shaking his head. "The fleet doesn't do the interiors of military ships in blue-gold. They've never done them in blue-gold. Not under the Empire, , not under the New Republic and not under the Old Republic - except one time."

"Which was?"

Lando took a deep, preparatory breath. "The Katana Fleet."

Han's mouth opened slightly. "That can't be right;" he insisted, "it's gotta be a mistake."

"No mistake, Han," Land shook his head. Digging his fingers in harder, he lifted the edge of the gray covering high enough to show the material beneath it. "I once spent two whole months researching the Dark Force. This is it."

Han gazed at the age-dulled blue-gold cloth, a sense of unreality creeping over him. The Katana fleet. The Dark Force. Lost for half a century... and now suddenly found. Maybe. "We need something better in the way of proof," he told Lando, "This doesn't do it by itself."

Lando nodded in shock. "That would explain why they kept us aboard the Lady Luck the whole way here. They'd never be able to hide the fact that their dreadnought was running on only two thousand crewers instead of the normal sixteen. The Katana Fleet."

"We need to get a look inside one of those ships," Han persisted. "That recognition code Irenez sent - I don't suppose you made a recording of it?"

Lando took a deep breath and seemed to snap out of it. "We could probably reconstruct it but if they've got any sense, the code for getting in won't be the same as the code for getting out. But I don't think we have to get aboard the ships themselves. All I need is a good close look at that repeater display panel back in the headquarters lounge."

"Okay;" Han nodded grimly, "Let's go get you that look."

It took them only minutes to get back to the lounge. Han carefully gauged pedestrian and vehicle traffic and hoped that the place would still be empty, given the hour. Getting a close look at the repeater display would be tricky enough without a whole bunch of people sitting around with nothing better to do than watch what was happening at the bar.

"What are we looking for exactly?" he murmured to Lando.

"There should be some specialized input slots on the back for the full-rig slave circuitry readouts;" Lando told him. "And there'll be production serial numbers too."

Han nodded, realizing that they were going to need to get the thing off the wall. "How come you know so much about the fleet?" he asked curiously.

"Like I said, I did a lot of studying;" Lando snorted under his breath. "If you must know, I got stuck with a fake map to it as part of a deal back when I was selling used ships. I figured if I could learn enough about it to look like an expert, I might be able to unload the map on someone else and get my money back."

"Did you?"

"You really want to know?" asked Lando wryly.

"I guess not. Get ready, it's show time."

The place was still empty, other than the bar tender. With an easy smile, Han walked casually up to the bar. "Welcome back, gentlemen," the bar tender said cheerfully. "what can I get you?"

"Something to take back to our quarters;" replied Han, giving the shelves behind the man a visual sweep. The selection was excellent. "I don't suppose you have a Vistulo Brandale on hand, do you?"

"I think so;" the bartender turned and scanned the shelves. "Yes, there it is."

"What's the vintage?"

Lando watched, mildly impressed, as his old friend managed to get himself taken to the storage room in the back. As soon as they were out of sight, he went to work. It didn't take a lot to carefully take the repeater display off the wall and there it was - the slave-rig circuit readouts and, on the other side of the display, a serial number from the Katana's production line as well. There was no doubt left in his mind and the shock that had previously warn off hit him again.

Taking a deep breath, Lando carefully hung the repeater display back up. "Find what you're looking for, Calrissian?" a cool voice asked behind him.

Lando froze for a moment before glancing over his shoulder. Irenez stood there, her hand on her blaster but and gazing at him coolly. Suppressing a sigh, Lando sat back and said, "Yes, just satisfying my curiosity - and my suspicions."

"Indeed;" she replied, "and where is Captain Solo?"

"Getting us something to take back to the barracks;" he answered casually, "have you come to collect us for dinner already?"

Just then, Han came out of the storage room with a bottle in hand. The old pirate took everything in at a quick glance, including Irenez.

"Well hello, Irenez," Han said, trying his best to sound innocent. "Funny meeting you here?"

"Not all that funny," she replied frostily. "Sena assigned me to keep an eye on you. Did you get what you came for?"

Lando nodded fractionally to Han's fractional glance. "I think so, yeah;" he replied.

"Glad to hear it;" Irenez growled. "Let's go - outside."

Han turned and handed the bottle back to the bartender. "Keep it," he said, "Looks like the party's been canceled."

Waiting for them outside was an older five-passenger landspeeder. "Inside;" snapped their guide.

They obeyed quietly and there, sitting with uncharacteristic stiffness in one of the passenger seats was Sena Leikvold Midanyl. "Gentlemen;" she said gravely, "sit down, please. Irenez, take the controls and drive us around the camp. I don't care where."

The the speeder rumbled and lurched to life, she commented, "You didn't stay in you room very long."

"I don't remember the Senator saying anything about being confined to quarters;" Han countered casually.

"He didn't. On the other hand, a properly brough up guest should know better than to wander unescorted around sensitive areas."

One of Han's eyebrows lifted and he even managed to keep the majority of his famous sarcasm out of his answer. "I apologize. I didn't realize your liquor supply was classified." He glanced out the window and frowned. "If you're trying to take us back to our quarters, you're going the wrong way."

Sena studied his face for a moment. "I came to ask you a favor."

Han frowned and waited. "I want you to talk to Mon Mothma for me, to ask her and the Council to invite Senator Bel-Iblis to join the New Republic."

Han's frown deepened. Was that why they'd brought him and Lando all the way over here?

"You don't need a special invitation to join up;" he pointed out, "all you have to do is contact someone on the Council and offer your services."

A muscle in Sena's cheek twitched. "I'm afraid that in the Senator's case, it's not going to be quite that easy. It's not so much a matter of joining the New Republic as rejoining it."

Han and Lando glanced at each other. "Oh?" Han said carefully.

The woman turned and looked out the window with a weary sigh. "It happened a long time ago;" she began, "before the various resistance groups formerly formed into the Rebel Alliance. Do you know anything about that period of history?"

"Yeah;" Han nodded slowly, "Starkiller and Rahm Kota got the biggest groups together - Corellia, Alderaan and Chandrilla - and convinced them to form the Alliance. From there, they consolidated a bunch of smaller groups and it snowballed from there. This is all public record."

"Have you ever heard the name of that first agreement?"

"Sure. It was called the Corellian Treaty-" and it dawned on him.

"Yes;" Sena nodded, "It was Garm and not Mothma or Organa who wanted to get the ball rolling, as it were. It was he who sought out Kota and he who, after the Rebel Alliance was officially established, wanted strikes against the Empire - meaningful, hard strikes. Furthermore, it was Bel-Iblis and Kota who coordinated the most effective strikes."

"What happened?" asked Lando.

"To put it bluntly, Mon Mothma began to take over. Even though Garm was a far better strategist, even better than the majority of our commander officers in those days, Mon Mothma was far more charismatic - which allowed her to keep such a diverse alliance together. Gradually, she became the symbol of the Rebel Alliance and Bel-Iblis and even Organa were continually relegated to the background."

"And Kota and Starkiller had nothing to say about this?"

Sena shrugged. "They had disappeared, along with an entire task force. I suspect that High Command knew what had happened to them but they weren't sharing that information."

Several pieces clicked into place and Han and Lando looked at each other, confirming their realization. This split Sena was talking about had to have happened after Galen Marek, Rahm Kota and Kanan Jarrus took Task Force Phoenix into the Unknown Regions, leading Darth Vader's Dark Jedi hunters away from the Alliance. This, in turn, had happened right after Yavin and Alderaan. "So;" Han murmured, "Alderaan is destroyed, and Bail Organa is lost. Then two of the other founding members, Starkiller and Kota, are forced to lead some of Vader's vornskrs away from the war and that left Mon Mothma and the Bel-Iblis"

"Precisely;" confirmed Sena, "though I had no idea that's why Kota and Marek had fled."

Lando waved it away, "So Mon Mothma takes more and more power and is more and more dismissive of Garm until, at some point I'm sure, it finally comes to a head."

"Yes;" she replied. "though he never says so outright, I think he confronted her about it and she dismissed him from service."

That was a shock to both of them. "What?" said Han.

"What's more, he let her because he was certain that, as soon as she overthrew the Emperor, she was going to set herself in his place."

"And so Garm took a goodly chunk of the rebellion with him;" commented Han.

"Most of the Corellian rebel forces went with him, yes;" confirmed Sena.

There was a long silence before Lando asked, "Did you hear anything about this, Han?"

"Not a whisper;" replied the other.

"I'm not surprised;" commented Sena, "Would you have advertised a defection by someone of the Senator's status? Especially in the middle of a war?"

"Probably not;" conceded Han. "I suppose the only surprise is that more groups didn't back out like you did. Mon Mothma can be pretty overbearing when she wants to be."

"There wasn't any doubt as to who was in charge during the war either;" Lando added drly. "I once saw her make Admiral Ackbar and general Madine both back down on one of their pet projects when she decided she didn't like it."

Han looked at Sena. "Is that why you cut back on your raids against the Empire? So that you'd be ready to move against Mon Mothma if she turned the New Republic into a dictatorship?"

"That's exactly why;" she confirmed, "We moved here to Peregrine's Nest just under three years ago, suspended all operations except material raids, and started working up tactical contingency plans. And settled in to wait for the Senators triumphant vindication. And we've been waiting ever since."

Han looked out at the camp as they passed through it. After a long pause, he said, "It's not going to happen, Sena."

"I know that;" she murmured. "Deep down, so does the Senator."

"Except he can't swallow his pride long enough to go to Mon Mothma and ask to be let back in. So he get's you to ask us to-"

"The Senator has nothing to do with this;" snapped Sena, cutting him off. "He doesn't even know I'm talking to you. This is on my responsibility alone."

Han studied her for a moment. "Yeah, okay."

They were silent until Lando murmured, "Han;" and lifted a brow, bringing their discovery back at the lounge to the forefront.

"We'll talk to Mon Mothma about the Senator. You talk to us about the Katana Fleet;" said Han.

Sena's face went rigid. "The Katana Fleet?"

Lando nodded. "Where you six Dreadnoughts came from. Don't bother denying it. I got a good look at that repeater display you've got up over the bar in the Headquarters lounge."

"No, I can't tell you anything about that."

Lando's eyes narrowed. "Why not? We're all about to be allies again, remember? Unless you've already promised the fleet to Fey'lya."

"We've promised Fey'lya nothing;" she snapped again. "Not that he hasn't asked for it."

Han grimaced. "So he is trying for a coup."

"Not at all," snorted Sena, shaking her head. "Fey'lya wouldn't know what to do with a military coup if you gift wrapped it and handed it to him on a drink tray. You have to understand that Bothans think in terms of political and persuasive influence, not military power. The typical Bothan's goal is to go through life getting more and more people to listen to what he has to say. Fey'lya thinks that being the one to bring the Senator back into the New Republic will be a large step in that direction."

"Especially if Ackbar isn't around to oppose him?" asked Han.

"Yes, that;s unfortunately another typical Bothan move. A Bothan leader who stumbles is invariably jumped on by all those who want to take over his position. In the distant past the attacks were literal - knives and usually death. Now, it's been modified to more of a verbal assassination. Progress, I suppose."

"What a great group to have as allies;" growled Han. "So before stabbing, do they also help by tripping?"

"You mean the bank transfer?" asked Sena, "No, I doubt that was Fey'lya's doing. As a rule, Bothans don't stick their necks out far enough to concoct plots on their own. They much prefer taking advantage of other people's."

"More like scavengers than hunters."

"Get Ackbar cleared and Fey'lya will back off, since the Admiral won't be vulnerable anymore."

Han groused, "Great, but with Thrawn in charge, we may not have that much time."

"And neither do you;" Lando pointed out. "Mara Jade Skywalker told us a lot about this Grand Admiral Thrawn. He has this instinctual ability to learn about his opponents, figure out their moves and, in many cases, their locations in a ways that we still don't understand. Somehow, he uses the art of a culture to discern everything about them."

Sena nodded. "Yes, psychological profiling through art and deducing strategy from it - Jedi Jade Skywalker warned us about that shortly after Thrawn reemerged in the galaxy."

Again, Han and Lando's mouths fell open. "What?"

"She warned us that Thrawn would be after capital ships and that if we knew where to find the Dark Force, he'd come after us, especially if our dreadnoughts were seen or even rumors of them heard. But no one here, not even the Senator, knows where the dreadnoughts are. They come from a man, who's name I don't know so don't ask, who found them long ago."

"Back up;" said Han, "you said that Mara warned you about Thrawn? How long have you been in contact with the Jedi Order?"

"We haven't;" said Sena, "only with Mara Jade Skywalker. In truth, we've been in contact with her for quite some time now - since before she was Mara Jade Skywalker."

"How did you-" but Sena cut Han off with a gesture. "That's something that only Jade Skywalker and the Senator are at liberty to discuss. Ever since we met, she's been trying to convince us to rejoin and has also been keeping tabs on Fey'lya's power plays and pushes. He isn't aware that she's been in contact with the Senator, you see."

"That does sound like Mara;" said Han, sounding more thoughtful than anything.

"Back to the dreadnoughts;" said Lando, "what can you tell us about this man?"

"What I do know is that all of our meetings are aboard the Coral Vanda, a floating casino and across one of the gaming tables. The staff there know him quite well, though the way he was throwing money around, that may not mean anything."

"The Coral Vanda?" asked Han

"It's a subocean luxury casino on Pantolomin;" explained Lando. "Does three and seven day runs through their reefs off the northern continent. Always wanted to go there but, of course, haven't had the chance."

"Well you're about to;" said Han grimly, "I suppose our next question is how we're going to get out of here."

"That won't be a problem;" said Sena, her voice sounding strained. "I can get the Harrier to take you back to New Cov. When do you want to leave?"

"Right now;" said Han firmly. At Sena's expression, he continued, "look, no matter when we go, you're going to have some explaining to do to the Senator. We're in a race with the Empire here - even a few hours might make the difference."

"I suppose you're right;" she replied reluctantly. "Irenez, take us to their ship. I'll make the arrangements from there."

It turned out that there was not need to make arrangements from the Lady Luck. Standing outside the ship's ramp, clearly waiting for them, was Senator Bel-Iblis. "Hello Solo, Calrissian;" he smiled tightly at Han and Lando as they climbed out of the speeder. "You weren't at your quarters and I thought you might be here. I see I guessed right."

When his eyes flicked to Sena, his smile vanished and his face hardened. "Sena, what's going on?'

"They know about the dreadnoughts, sir;" she said quietly. "and I told them about our contact."

"I see;" Bel-Iblis said, "and so you're leaving. To see if you can persuade him to turn the Dark Force over to the New Republic."

"That's right, sir;" said Han, his own tone just as cool and grim as the Senators. "We need the ships - need them pretty bad. But not as much as we need good fighters - and good commanders."

For a long moment, Bel-Iblis gazed at him. "Jade Skywalker said something similar to me many times and I'll tell her what I told you - I'm going to Mon Mothma like a beggar, pleading to be let in."

"You left for good reasons;" Han persisted, "and you can come back the same way."

"No;" he said, "Too many people know what happened between us. I would look like an old fool - or like a beggar."

With a sigh, he looked at his base, Peregrine's Nest and he muttered, "I don't have anything to bring, Solo. Once I dreamed of having a fleet that would rival the best inthe New Republic, a fleet and a string of decisive and pivotal victories over the Empire. With that, perhaps I could have returned with dignity and respect. What we have now barely qualifies as a strike force."

"Six dreadnoughts is nothing to sneer at, Senator;" said Lando, "and your combat record speaks for itself. Look, forget Mon Mothma for a minute and think about Galen Marek, Hera Syndulla and the others like them. They'd be more than delighted to have you back."

"The Jedi aren't even a part of the military any more;" Bel-Iblis pointed out. "But I do suppose that it's worth thinking about."

"Exactly, especially with Grand Admiral Thrawn in charge of the Empire;" said Han, "if he catches you here alone, you'll have had it."

The Senator smiled tightly. "That thought had occurred to me, Solo - several times a day, in fact. What's more, Jade Skywalker brings it up with every communique."

"How is it that you two came into contact anyway?" demanded Han.

Bel-Iblis shook his head. "If you really want to know, you'll have to talk to your brother-in-law's wife. The Harrier is leaving in half an hour to take Breil'lya back to New Cov. I'll instruct them to take you and the Lady Luck along."

"Lando, go get the ship ready;" said Han and he glanced at Irenez and Sena. Both of them took the hint.

"Senator;" Han said, "I learned a long time ago that when it comes to the Imperials, especially high level Imperials, doing as Mara Jade Skywalker says is the best course of actions. Swallow your pride and join the fold because right now, you're a thorn in his side. If you don't think that Thrawn is going to figure out what kind of dreadnoughts those are and where they came from, then you take Mara's word for it. You're in graver danger than you know."

Bel-Iblis gazed at him for a long moment before saying, "I'll keep that in mind. It was good to see you, Solo;" and he stretched his hand out.

Han shook it and headed up the boarding ramp.

I'm back! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Gotta say, it's just a little tedious to read and write at the same time, though I love adding the alternate part of my Alternate Universe story.

During my unplanned hiatus, I came across another author who, one day, hopes to be a novelist. At the moment, he's writing a blog at bloggspot dot com. I encourage everyone to go to cyrusking0066 at blogspot dot com (apparently I'm not allowed to write the website down shorthand. It always automatically gets erased). He's a talented guy and while he doesn't write Star Wars, he does have some good stuff.

Anyhow, thanks for reading and please feel free to review and critique.