The crew had filtered back onto the Zephyr as it departed from Haven Sentry, jumping into hyperspace enroute to Courascant. The trip took about a day and a half, during which Lindmon continued training with Ahsoka, each of their sessions laden with a tinge or foreboding. Lindmon had relaid to Ahsoka what had happened. She had said that they needn't worry about Sabine, she knew what she was doing. Lindmon was starting to get the hang of sensing the force, he picked up the mentalism much faster than Ahsoka had expected, yet she wasn't surprised givin his history. Manipulation was proving much more difficult. Lindmon was excited when he watched his hilt floating a few inches off the ground, wobbling in the air before it clattered back down, but he struggled to lift anything heavier.
"Weight is an illusion your mind places on you. Your logic states that it will be harder to lift but weight is meaningless to the Force." Ahsoka had said, but the task of reworking his thought process was proving difficult.
The crew arrived on planet a day prior to the hearing, the heavy feeling of dread and stress filled the space from cockpit to aft. Ahsoka had agreed to accompany him to the chamber but stated she may not be allowed entry despite her position as an ambassador for the senate, due to her assistance in the mission at the center of everything, but her company was appreciated nonetheless. The Republic offered to allow them board but the crew had opted to remain on ship, finding more comfort in their familiar crew quarters than the idea of a strange bed.
The hour was quickly approaching for the hearing. Lindmon stood in a small waiting room off the side of the senate floor in full dress uniform. He had already had one drink and was preparing a second when Ahsoka, wearing her pure white robe once more, suggested they meditate instead. After a short time a protocol droid waddled into the waiting room.
"The senate floor is ready to begin Sir. This way please."
Lindmon passed one final look at Ahsoka, who looked back reassuringly. He straightened his uniform coat and stepped out of the doors and onto the senate floor.
The doors slid open into a long room lined with tall ornate columns that stretched up to meet the high ceiling. The tan and white tiles of the room gave a sense of grandeur and purpose as Lindmon entered. Since the demolition of the Imperial Palace, construction of a new senate building had been underway. Construction of the massive galactic center had been ongoing throughout the last five months and was expected to continue for many more months. During that time though, all senate proceedings were delegated to another building nearby, this one was designed for civilian law operations. The pews and podiums were removed and replaced with a wide ovoid table, a portable holo dome resting on top.
The table however was sparsely occupied, other senators and generals had been removed for the duration of the classified operations unless they were authorized. Their idle chatter diminished as Lindmon entered and he took note of the attendees. The mix of senators and generals began with his superior officer Admiral Cest Sev'esa, his chestnut and greying fur illuminated by the sunlight beaming through the tall windows on the back wall. He was in his dress uniform as well and narrowed his eyes slightly at Lindmon, they'd been discussing one crisis after another spanning the last several hours and now there was another. One which he didn't particularly side with.
To his left sat Senator Organa, taking a liberal sip of her water. During the past months her work had been ceaseless, traveling to the other systems and bringing them under the fold of the New Republic. She offered to pour another glass for the famed military leader beside her who graciously accepted. Admiral Ackbar, whose leadership brought victory to the Rebellion at the battle of Endor, was positioned near the center of the table. His deep brown skin a bit uncomfortable in this low humidity as he enjoyed yet another drink. He had been present at nearly all meetings regarding military strategies in the prevailing months.
"Would you care to join us General Solo?" Senator Borsk Fey'lya said scornfully. Gesturing to an empty seat beside himself and General Syndulla as the Bothan's fur rippled with agitation.
The smuggler turned Rebellion General simply shrugged dismissively. "I've been sitting all day. If you don't like it then get better chairs."
At the center of the group sat the Chief of State, Mon Mothma. Elected for her charisma and leadership she had been guiding the New Republic to act with dignity and unity. She rose from her seat, the deep blue and gold robe draped around her thin frame shimmered from the light piercing the windows.
Her crystal blue eyes met Lindmon's, gazing into him, "Thank you for coming Lieutenant Crest. Those gathered here today have been informed of your mission parameters or are otherwise involved." Her soft voice detailed, "Please, why don't you begin by telling us what you've discovered?"
The others in the group quieted and waited expectantly for Lindmon's description. They had been informed of the standard description of his mission, but were eager to hear exactly what had been occurring. And how...
Lindmon stood at the foot of the table at parade rest, he had been preparing for this for almost a day and yet still found himself nervous.
Trust in the Force.
He heard Ahsoka's voice echo in his own mind as he started into his report.
"Thank you Senators, Admirals, and Generals. Several months ago my crew was dispatched to the Unknown Regions to begin two separate missions. The first and primary of these, to retrieve any and all information leading to the furthering of the removal of the Imperial remnant from the galaxy. The secondary mission, to locate any information leading to secural of one Ezra Bridger, a Jedi. At the behest of Ambassador Ahsoka Tano the crew of the Saqorian Zephyr made way to the planet Lothal under my command. Upon arrival and resupply we were joined by the head of Lothal Security Sabine Wren. Her involvement in the matter was not disclosed by my order. She was familiar with the Jedi in question and aided us exponentially in both missions, risking her life to secure the information provided to this council. Upon leaving Lothal my crew and I began our foray into the edges of the Unknown Regions, searching and documenting secure paths into the system and habitable planets that may be of interest to the Republic. We eventually made planetfall on an outlier world called Saqor. My crew and I disembarked and attempted an information gathering mission in compliance with both stated missions. Sabine successfully made contact with a Mandalorian who provided the information on three imperial relay posts. The price of which was the retrieval of one Gripp Jippeek. With the help of Republic intelligence we determined that the person in question had fled to the Hutt controlled planet of Nar-Shadaa. Upon arrival my crew, under my orders, made contact with a weapons dealer and made arrangements to capture the target. During the course of the mission injuries were sustained by Sabine Wren, who required significant medical attention, and damage to one security vehicle of Nar-Shadaa's security force. The target was apprehended and the information was provided to us. The actions of my crew fall soley on my shoulders as the commanding officer of this mission, and any and all action taken should therefor be placed soley on me due to my decisions. I deemed the information aquired to be a sufficient reason to act, as it both lead to a significant retrieval for the primary mission, and the information held at these stations had a high chance of aiding in the search for Ezra Bridger."
Lindmon finished his report and took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he awaited, and dreaded, the outcome of his report.
Mon Mothma looked at Lindmon sympathetically, "I'm sorry to hear about your comrade...We all hope that she will be okay." It was this kind of genuine response that reinforced to Lindmon that he made the right choice in defecting to the right side. After all the things that he could be reprimanded for, the first concern was for a fallen comrade.
"Don't worry, my girl is a firecracker. She'll be up and at 'em in no time!" General Syndulla said proudly to her fellow attendees.
Borsk Fey'lya was less enthused, scanning through his datapad for a moment before looking up at Lindmon dissatisfied. "You seem to have neglected to mention that after you apprehended this 'target', you turned him over to a mercenary group that calls themselves the Blood Raptors."
"Did you think that sending this person to their presumed death wasn't relevant? Or perhaps you thought Admiral Sev'esa would neglect to include that information in his report?" Fey'lya scolded.
"Not at all Sir. I deemed it as an appropriate decision. The Blood Raptors would have found a way to apprehend their person of interest with or without our aid. I decided, with that in mind, that the benefit of the data at hand coming into Republic hands was to great an opportunity to let pass simply to keep my own hands clean. Gripp Jippeek was being hunted by an entire mercenary band along with a Mandalorian. As I saw it his fate was sealed when he struck down one of the Blood Raptor's command and turned that to the Republics benefit. Along with the data we are now on good terms with a prominent information dealer in the unknown regions which may in the future turn up more fruitful information."
Lindmon turned to General Syndulla. "Sir, Sabine Wren returned to duty in full health three days ago and returned to Lothal to handle the security leak that occurred during her absence."
"See? She's a tenacious one for sure!" General Syndulla said happily, slapping her leg heartily.
General Solo interjected as he leaned up against one of the support columns, "Look kid, I know it seems like it turned out good...but these Blood Raptors are a dangerous group. They remember who helped them, and if they come to you for more work, well, don't expect no to be an answer."
"Our business arrangement was with an Older Mandalorian named Teroch, he provided us with the target and so far as I am aware, while he is aligned with the Blood Raptors he is not a member. The deal was struck from one Mandalorian to another. From what I have been lead to believe, Mandalorians do not expect favors if there is not something to gain from the other side. In the future if there is any communication with the Blood Raptors we will be informing Republic command and allowing them to make the decision, unfortunately due to the nature of our mission and the time sensitive nature I made the decision as the commander of the mission to proceed." Lindmon stated.
This was going far better than he had anticipated. His worries that this would be primarily a disciplinary hearing seemed to shrink away, at least in part. It allowed him the opportunity to relax at least slightly.
"From what I know of Mandalorians, and especially mercenaries, it's that all they need is some money, and they'll do whatever you want however you want." General Solo warned.
"It doesn't put the Republic in a good light, to be dealing with these groups." Senator Organa replied, her expression firm but polite. "We're trying to bring new systems into the Republic. We can't have them thinking we'll send them to their deaths to further our goals."
"My crew and I were careful not to reveal to anybody that we were Republic agents. I can't say for certain whether or not they may have aquired that information in any other fashion, so I can not confirm or deny their knowledge of our association with the Republic. I apologize on behalf of myself and my crew for any difficulties our actions under my command may have caused or will cause in the future." The stress creeped back in as the talk seemed to take a sour turn. His neck tingled again, although this time he wasn't sure why. General Organa's eyes met his and she looked at him quizzically.
Senator Organa stared at him for a long moment, wondering what the strange pull she had towards Lindmon was. She shook her head and sighed, "We just need to be cautious moving forward. If Han says they'll try to collect on favors from you, we need you to be prepared. The Republic might not be able to send you assistance in time to help."
"Republic forces are drawn thin enough, that's for sure." Admiral Ackbar concurred, "Our blockades are facing an increasing amount of Imperial scouts. It seems as though they're probing for weaknesses, looking for undefended territories and hyperlanes."
"Understood General. Turning to the information on the Imperial installations if I may. Flying in blind would be detrimental I think, especially if they are still staffed. I could take the King of Spades out, dispatches from a nearby system with a clear hyperspace lane. She can fly under the radar and on the off chance she is detected it won't be as strange for her to be in the area. Our Phantom missions were often so classified that outliers wouldn't even ask for anything outside of authorization codes."
Lindmon shifted uncomfortably, now that his report was complete he wasn't sure if they were going to bother with disciplinary action at this immediate point. Likely the Admiral would pull him aside to chew him out further. He stepped towards the table.
"You seem to be getting ahead of yourself Lieutenant." Senator Fey'lya reprimanded. "Many of us here think that this search mission had been a poor allocation of Republic manpower. I feel that we should decide if the mission should be terminated before we continue with what to do with the Imperial bases."
"Senator Fey'lya!" General Syndulla shouted, rising from her seat. "How dare you-" Mon Mothma raised her hand to silence her.
"The notion of continuing Lieutenant Lindmon's mission has merit and deserves to be heard" One of Mon Mothma's foundations of the New Republic was to never silence a dissenting opinion. Everyone had enough of the decades of oppression the Empire imposed on their freedoms.
"The months in which Lieutenant Lindmon has been embarked have only produced the locations of these Imperial comm stations." Senator Fey'lya explained, "If they weren't so occupied with searching each individual planet for this missing person they could spend more resources uncovering more information pertinent to the Imperial Remnant."
General Syndulla glared daggers at Fey'lya as he spoke. She couldn't believe the audacity of the senator to attempt to scrub the recovery mission so soon. "Finding Ezra is extremely important to the New Republic. Almost every person in this room was influenced by him at some point, for the better I might add. And now you're talking about leaving him out there? He's already been gone five years!"
"Soldiers that are missing in action are rarely recovered." Senator Fey'lya said solemnly.
"With all due respect senator. The crew of the Zephyr has done much more than simply search planets for a single person. Much of our time was spent pathfinfing routes, which was a primary parameter when this mission was assigned. We detailed our travels and paths, hazards we avoided, and shortcuts during the entire expedition. Each planet we visited was scanned and documented. Atmospheric data and flora fauna scans. We have been far from wasting time and resources, I can assure you." The hairs on the back of Lindmon's neck bristled. The thought that the senator assumed they were galavanting on some lost cause rescue operation bit under his skin.
"Flora and fauna..." Senator Fey'lya said pensively, turning his meticulous gaze to Lindmon. "I think it's wonderful that you believe the New Republic is here to fund your own personal nature expedition Lieutenant Crest. The fact of the matter is that you have gained no more technical data than other informants in half the time, and are no closer to finding this missing person after three months!"
A twinge along his spine told him to stop. It didn't matter what he said, the senator was quite set in his ways and it wasn't his place to speak back to a senator. Stating his point was all he could do.
"As you say, Senator." Lindmon conceded.
Senator Fey'lya rested back in his seat, quite pleased with the compliance of the Lieutenant.
Senator Organa spoke up in the interim, "I think that it cannot be understated the value of bringing another Jedi into the New Republic." She said flatly, trying to appeal to her fellow colleagues. "If Luke Skywalker has shown us anything its that a single Jedi can change the course of history and bring hope back to the galaxy."
Admiral Cest Sev'esa scoffed at the tail end of her comment. "What is this nonsensical talk about Jedi, mystic religions have no place in this forum!"
"Only with the help of my brother were we able to destroy both of the Death Stars and bring peace back to the galaxy." Senator Organa stated proudly, not yielding to the provocations of the admiral.
"Ha! The Death Stars were destroyed by superior Rebellion battle strategies not by some fantasy energy power." Admiral Sev'esa urged. "If Skywalker wasn't there, the Death Stars would have been destroyed all the same."
"With all due respect Admiral, it isn't some kind of strange fantasy. The Force is real, I've been coming to grips with that myself over the course of these past several months." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said them. The fur on the Admiral's face stood on end as his whole body seemed to quiver in vaguely restrained fury. General Organa raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so Lieutenant? And what makes you so sure?" She clasped her hands together in front of her.
Lindmon looked at her, embarrassed. "Apologies General, what I intended was that in the course of trying to locate Bridger we've encountered some unexplainable things."
She smiled at him coyly, that strange feeling she had moments prior clicking into place. "Is that the case Lieutenant? You didn't fail to include anything in your reports did you?"
Lindmon stood for a moment before responding. "The information I provided in my report is the full record of pertinent information Sir." His moment of silence spoke volumes to Leia.
"Of course Lieutenant." Senator Organa replied, not wanting to bring too much attention to his cryptic answers. That would be an interesting topic for the next meeting after this...
"I believe that the mission to find Ezra should continue. Though it might have taken longer than some of us had wanted, there are good results that have come from it." General Syndulla protested, "We've all lost family to this war...Ezra is like a son to me. If he's out there then we should at least be trying to find him."
A moment of silence passed over the group as they remembered those lost from the years long struggles. Children, fathers, widows, they've all felt the sting off loss.
Senator Fey'lya snorted, a rude gesture for a human, but for a Bothan it was the equivalent of an awkward cough. Even the obstinate Bothan was not devoid of sympathy. "Fine. Fine." He said waving his hand dismissively, "I will admit that if we can get the information from one of these Imperial communication arrays it may start to pay off."
"Wonderful!" The Mon Calamari Admiral exclaimed happily. Now that it was decided that Lindmons mission could continue, he could move on to the battle strategy for taking over the Imperial relay. The subject of finding the Jedi merely secondary for his involvement. Admiral Ackbar depressed a button on the holotable, activating a familiar projection. The star chart that Lindmon's team taken had appeared in the room, their jagged path cutting a small swath into the Unknown Region. It branched along the indicated red cone of the Chimaera's projected path, illuminating and annotating the planets along the way. On the map the three Imperial communication arrays were indicated by bright yellow orbs. They appeared near the Saqor system, spread out along the red route. Had Lindmon's shuttle continued down that path they very well could have run into one without warning. Knowing their locations beforehand allowed them to plan a preemptive strike.
"The positions of the Imperial relay stations are expectedly unfavorable to approach." Admiral Ackbar explained to the room, "Planning a coordinated strike will be difficult because of the treacherous route through the region, it could take days for our cruisers to cut into the area. Therefore it is my recommendation that we establish a forward outpost near the system and rally what forces we can spare. This will give us a reliable defensive position to fall back to, and establish resupply operations within the Unknown Region. A task we need to get underway soon if we want to have a counter offensive against the Imperials." Admiral Ackbar gestures to Admiral Sev'esa respectfully, "We had prepared for a situation like this to occur, which is why the mission was placed under command of Admiral Sev'esa. His skill and knowledge at establishing and defending forward positions will be paramount to our success."
"Once a forward position is established we will use Lieutenant Lindmon's previously mentioned TIE phantom to scout the Imperial installation." Ackbar switched the display to show a rotating image of the King of Spades. The TIE phantom shimmered and melted from view. "The craft's stygium based cloaking system renders it totally invisible to scanners and optics. We'll have to adjust our strategy based on their defenses, and prepare for a strike team or ground assault on the surface."
"Sir, the crew of the Zephyr could continue our mission and scout out surrounding systems, along with a possibly more direct path to those locals."
Lindmon was glad the conversation had finally moved away from the previous missions.
"We have already secured several that could make it easier, and our long range scans show us that there may be several more in the surrounding areas. If I could make a suggestion."
He pointed into a small cluster of stars roughly in the center of the three yellow dots.
"As I recall, our scans picked up a planet in this vicinity, the relative location to each of the bases could prove the most beneficial."
"That takes us right into the center of their territory..." Admiral Ackbar said pensively, "If your sensors were able to find that planet Imperial scanners might be able to detect our ships in the area and catch us before we're prepared." He seemed cautious about the plan, more at ease with deliberate defensive strategies over a longer period of time. Admiral Ackbar favored missions that are accomplished with guaranteed rewards followed by minimal casualties.
"I like the idea, it's nice and aggressive!" Admiral Cest Sev'esa shouted, "The Imperials are at their weakest and the longer we give them to recover the worse off we will be. It's better to take these opportunities while we can."
"According to the populace of Saqor, the Empire doesn't hold much in the way of sway in the sector, that could work to our benefit. The people I spoke to were confident that the Empire wasn't operational in the area. These outposts may be vestigial, low staffed, listening posts."
Ackbar thought for a long moment before continuing, "That will be where your scouting will be extremely helpful. If these are lightly defended we may not have to devote so much to get the information."
"We should still proceed with caution." Mon Mothma interjected, "Our reports have been showing that Imperials have been conquering territories in the region with unprecedented speed. A heavily defended relay station may not expand its influence to the planets nearby but it could still pose a threat if it detects New Republic forces."
The council continued on for quite a while, discussing possible plans and deciding on key points. Lindmon remained silent for a majority of the proceedings, only speaking up when a question was posed to him. Finally after what seemed like a couple hours the council closed. Each of the members standing up in turn. Eventually the only people left other than Lindmon were General Organa, who stood to leave with General Solo. As she passed by Lindmon she touched his arm and leaned in towards him. "May the force be with you." She said with a wink as the pair exited the room. Lindmon stood there for a moment in the empty room, the light shining in from above showing the hints of the orange and reds of dusk. He turned and exited the way he came in. As he walked through the pair of doors where Ahsoka was waiting he found her meditating, sitting on the floor, her robes spread out under her. She opened her eyes as he entered.
"So it went well I see. They haven't stripped you of your rank, and by the energy around you I would say you came out better than before."
Lindmon smiled, helping her off the floor.
"The Zephyr is set to begin scouting missions around the outposts to find a suitable staging world, once that is found the Blue Diver is going to enter system and from there I take the King of Spades out to scout the defense of each relay."
Ahsoka smiled back, glad that things went smoothly. The pair made their way back to the shuttle while Lindmon informed her of the events of the meeting in more detail.
"So you were the one to recommend a planet right in the center of all the relay stations?" Ahsoka chuckled as they walked towards the hangar bay. "You seem to have a flair for the reckless."
The long walk took them across Coruscant's dazzling sunset vista, the massive glass and metal spires shimmering bright orange and sharp yellows. Home to the galaxy's busiest airways, the zoom of speeders could always be heard on the upper levels. As they reached the entrance of the hangar containing the Saqorian Zephyr, Ahsoka stopped. Lindmon turned back and looked at her quizzically. "I won't be able to go with you on this mission. There are a few things I need to see to." She said cryptically.
"What sort of things? We can help you, this mission isn't set to kick off officially for a week or so. The brass needs time to ensure they have the forces to take the relays" Lindmon responded hopefully. "We have some time."
"I have to consult with the elders on the visions I've been having in reference to the Unknown Region." Ahsoka explained. She noteed Lindmon's confusion and attempted to explain, "They are called the Adepts of the White Current, they follow a perspective of the Force that is unique from the Jedi. After the Jedi Order fell I continued my immersion into the Force through them and their teachings of pacifism and healing."
"There are many things being set in motion." She continued, her face showing the gravity of the subject. "I need to know if these visions are truth or foreboding of a future yet to be realized...but I need to go alone."
"Alright, will you be meeting back up with us afterwards? What would you like me to practice while you're away?" The thought of her being away was giving him some anxiety. After starting down the path of the Jedi this was the first time she would be away from him. "We can keep you appraised of our local so you can meet up with us."
"Thank you Lieutenant, I'll meet up with you in a few weeks." Ahsoka assured, "Make sure to meditate and immerse yourself in the Force. Being attuned to your emotions and aware of the will of the Force is always more valuable than learning simple techniques." Ahsoka explained to Lindmon as she turned to leave. Her previous attempts to teach Lindmon the ways of the Force had been rocky, with him understanding the mindset rapidly but having difficulty putting the theory into practice. She had constantly been reminding him that the Force was a living thing, with it's own will and priorities, that one can only influence it momentarily with practice and discipline.
"Alright, will do, may the Force be with you." He smiled at her as she turned to leave, she waved to him as she exited the hangar and he turned to continue up the ramp. As he boarded Giz ran up to him, worry and excitement on her face.
"Well? How'd it go? Is everything ok? What are we doing next?" She asked bouncing from question to question without giving Lindmon the chance to reply.
"Calm down Giz, everything's fine. Get Sulahaan and Reed and we will go over the plan." She nodded rapidly and ran into the engine room where Sul was working to bring him in. Lindmon moved to the cabinet and was about to pour a drink, deciding against it, he placed the glass back down and walked over to the table, pressing several keys and pulling up an image of the Unknown Regions, the yellow dots of the relays blinking silently.
The rest of the crew filed in. Lindmon provided the details of his meeting, providing what information he could and relayed the plan of action, scouting out several planets for a forward base. Afterwards the group separated, going about their own tasks. Lindmon returned to his quarters and sat on the bed. He spent several hours meditating, trying to feel the flow of the Force. After a while and not entirely that much progress he fell asleep.