Elios read over the file in front of him. He'd had any reports regarding potential sightings of those who had assisted his daughter's escape flagged. He felt that it would be prudent to know as much as he could so that he would be more prepared for those who may seek to get in the way of his turning her over to his Emperor. When the report was filed regarding the former ISB Agent turned deserter showing up on Cantonica he was intrigued. He studied the security footage that had been included with the report filed with the Imperials.

It would seem that the man had single handedly dealt with the security detail that had been sent to capture him and take him to where an Imperial escort was waiting to take him off of their hands. Impressed, he supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised after going over the man's service record. Clearly, he'll have to make sure that if his forces come across the man that they don't underestimate him.

While watching the footage provided of the entrance to the casino where the surveillance cameras had been placed at an angle for an optimal image, Elios watched as the man who had been identified as Agent Kallus in disguise appeared on screen. Smart. He knew that he was a wanted man, and he changed his appearance to the point that even facial recognition software wouldn't have picked him up.

As the agent walked in, he noticed that he had done so with another Pantoran; a woman who was hardly dressed but Elios knew that the outfit would have blended perfectly with the setting. As they walked in the man had placed a possessive hand to her back both times that they had entered the casino. The first time that the man had left the gambling establishment he appeared to have been supporting his female companion; too much alcohol, perhaps. Moff Dume returned the footage to when they had first entered the establishment and had it zoomed in on the woman.

"So, that is why he had risked so much to join a rescue attempt on an Imperial Star Destroyer," Elios leaned back in his chair as he once more replayed the footage from the entrance when the deserter and his daughter entered and left on that first day that they'd been on Cantonica. "Really, quite a reckless thing to do."

Elios then watched as the man left but this time with a Mandalorian in tow after he had practically demolished the security forces that had been sent to capture him. With that, the Moff looked over the report of the man's potential allies. There was the Jedi, of course, whom he'd joined during the rescue on his ship. There was also the Lasat who had been seen in the hanger who covered their race to their ship during the escape from the Star Destroyer. But Elios had uncovered that there were two others in the cell that the Jedi and Lasat were a part of. A Twi'lek and a Mandalorian.

He pulled up what was on file regarding the young woman and saw that it was noted by Grand Admiral Thrawn that she had quite the artistic bent. Elios glanced back toward the security footage and wondered if he was witnessing an example of her artistic abilities as he watched the two disguised deserters.

He made a mental note to look further into the allies of his daughter and the man who appeared to be close to her. He wouldn't be denied again by this rebel cell's involvement. His Emperor saw something in his daughter that he wanted and in exchange the Moff would be greatly compensated; but if he failed to bring her to him, he also knew that there would be a horrible price to pay. That meant that he was determined to be prepared for when his opportunity came.


After spending much of the flight back to Rebel Command working on removing her disguise, Kiara finished clearing the body modification paint off and mentally swore that this would be the last time she'd wear such skimpy outfits while also having to use the paints. After all, it meant that she had to use paint over her entire body. Next time she'd have to disguise herself as a Mirialan. That way the only place she'd have to paint would be her face and hands since the modest outfits would cover her entire body and no one of that species would be caught dead in the outfits she'd worn to Canto Bight, regardless of the reasons.

Kiara let Sabine and Zeb take care of handing off the credits to the leadership as she stayed aboard her ship to check behind them on the repairs that they'd had to make to it after they'd blasted their way out of the Cantonica system. She knew that they were completely capable of making the repairs themselves, and she had made a point of not checking on those repairs during their flight back so that she showed that she trusted them, but this was still her ship. She couldn't help but check them once she was left alone on it, once more.

While in the engine compartment she decided to work on some of the upgrades that she'd been putting off. She thought best when she was working on her ship and, to be honest, she needed to think now that she had the time and space to do it.

Kiara thought back to the kiss that she'd shared with Alexsandr. She had tried to play it off as if it was nothing more than a ruse, just as the fact that they'd both had to wear disguises, to avoid detection. But the truth was, she knew it was anything but. No matter how much she'd continued to tell nearly anyone who suggested that they were more than just friends, that kiss said otherwise. Things were changing between them and that scared her. Alex was her best friend, and the only real one she had after the Clone Wars until she came to the rebel base, and she didn't want to lose that friendship.

Overhead, she heard footsteps and knew that he'd returned to the ship. She could separate his steps from the others'. She had thought that he'd stay in the Command Center since it was no secret that he had become an integral part of the staff after joining the Rebellion. Not just because of his knowledge regarding the Empire but also thanks to his keen mind and ability to devise plans that could benefit the cause that reviled even most of the generals. It was the same reason why he'd excelled in his career within the Empire. If he had remained, there was no doubt that he'd likely would have risen to the top in record time. Perhaps only surpassed by Thrawn.

She looked down at her chronometer and realized that it was much later than she had thought. It had been shortly after the midday meal when she began the repairs and now it was well after the evening meal. So, no wonder he'd returned to the ship.

Kiara continued working on the system that she'd practically torn apart to upgrade it. She didn't like leaving repairs half-finished. Especially while on a base that could, in actuality, be attacked at any moment. Leaving vital systems unrepaired could cost lives if an evacuation were needed. Not to mention, she wanted the extra time before she finally saw Alexsandr alone for the first time in days since the evening in the casino. She worked several more hours on it until the upgrade was finally completed and the system was fully restored.

When she climbed out of the engine compartment her hands were covered with grime and she had oil streaks on her face from where she'd wiped the sweat away as she was working. It was also well into the night. She glanced down at herself once she was out of the compartment and figured that she'd best head to the refresher to get cleaned up. As she passed the common area toward the crew quarters where the refresher was located, she saw that Alexsandr was lounging on the couch reading from a datapad. When he heard her, he looked up and grinned as he saw the state that she was in. Standing there in her work jumpsuit and she knew she looked absolutely filthy.

"What are you still doing awake? I sort of thought that you would have turned in already."

"I waited up. I thought that we should talk." Alex put his datapad down and stood up and crossed the small room and couldn't help the small chuckle when he stepped close enough to smear the grease that was on Kiara's forehead. "This is a good look on you."

She rolled her eyes at that. "I'm sure." She pulled out her oil-stained rag in her pocket and wiped her face as best as she could before she tossed it aside. "It's a little late. I'm not sure that this would be the best time to-"

"Actually, it seems like the best time. Tac has powered down for the night and we aren't likely to be interrupted by anyone right now." Kallus put a hand on Kiara's elbow and led her over to the lounge area and waited until after she'd sat down on the couch before he joined her. "I've been putting some thought into this, and I think that we need to talk about Cantonica."

Kiara swallowed but she tried to cover her discomfort. "Relax. It's okay. I know that you just were-"

"No. That's just it. It may not have been the best time but that kiss, it was real. I've wanted to do that for quite some time." Alex took one of Kiara's grime-ridden hands and held it. "You had to have known that. Hell, half the base knows it."

Kiara thought back to the first time that she got in an indication that he did; back on that night when they'd played dejarik. She had reached out with her senses to try to get the upper hand in the game by reading him but when she did, she got more than she had expected. That had caused her to pull back. She'd tried to ignore what she knew ever since. Then came the incident at Canto Bight. Again, she tried to play it off but now she was confronted by the man in question and there was no ignoring what they both knew. She sighed as she nodded.

"Try not to seem so thrilled," Alex said as he saw the look of resignation on Kiara. His heart faltered at the look on her face. He didn't know what he really expected but it wasn't what he was seeing.

"I'm sorry. It's just... You've been my best friend and I don't want to ruin that."

"Who says that it has to ruin anything? We'll still be best friends. This, between us, only makes us more, not less." Alexsandr brushed a hand to push back some errant strands of hair that had fallen over Kiara's face as he leaned forward. "I know you said that you don't want to ruin what we have, but I don't lose what we could have, either. We're good together. Always have been." He got within a hair's breadth away from Kiara's lips before he added, "I love you."

With that, he closed the last bit of distance between them and gave a slow and gentle kiss. One to test to see if he'd be pushed away. When he wasn't he placed his hand behind her neck and pulled her toward him as he increased the intensity of the kiss. It was when Kiara not just accepted his kisses but returned them that he pulled her over into his lap as he sat back against the couch. He could then wrap both arms around the woman who had haunted his thoughts and dreams for so long. He felt her hands move over him, mimicking his own exploration.

When the kiss came to an end, he affectionately kissed the tip of Kiara's nose before he pulled her closer to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. He placed his cheek on the top of her head and grinned to himself. The two sat there for a moment, just absorbing the new level of closeness that they'd found and accepted.

Eventually, Kiara reluctantly looked at her chronometer and groaned. "The day's going to get started soon and neither of us has gotten any rest, yet."

"I suppose I should let you go get cleaned up and some sleep," Alex loosened his hold around Kiara as he spoke. He exchanged a chaste kiss before she stood and left the common room of the Shadow Chaser. He'll not be able to get any sleep, but he had lots of experience with going for days with little to no sleep. At least this time the reason for that lack of sleep was worth it.


Sabine watched as Kiara and Kallus sat at the midday meal. She could tell that something was different, just as she had seen at the morning meal, but she hadn't been able to get the woman aside to discuss the events at Canto Bight just yet. Sabine had spent most of the morning discussing which teams should be sent and where to purchase the equipment needed for the security upgrades now that they had the credits for them. For the most part, Rex took that over while she had a few suggestions since some of the newer teams had yet to earn the clone's trust, but she had seen that the missions would be a good chance to send them out to see how the teams worked together.

Now with that done Sabine suggested that she and Kiara spend the afternoon sparring. She saw that the other woman hesitated for a second before she agreed. She wasn't dumb. Kiara knew that Sabine wanted to talk about her relationship with the man sitting beside her. She intended to get all of the gossip that she could.

"It may be closer to the evening meal, though. I have a transmission with Kanan..." Kiara glanced toward where others were sitting nearby who didn't know that she was a force sensitive.

Fortunately, Sabine understood. "Make sure he knows that just because we aren't his sister that it doesn't mean that we don't want to hear from him, too."

Kiara laughed. "I'll make sure I tell him that. But he knows that I am less likely to be busy like the rest of you during the day."

And it was true. When on the base she spent most of her time bored. It gave her plenty of time to work on the assignments that Kanan gave her while learning to control her force abilities but there was little that she was suited for while at the base. Her particular skill set didn't exactly lend itself well to working here. When she wasn't working on gaining control, she would instead bury herself in her personal research project while reading legends on the holo-net.

"You stay busy enough," Kallus stated as he finished his meal. He knew what she filled her days with, but he was sworn to secrecy.

Kiara shrugged. "Maybe I'm just surrounded by overachievers."

"I don't know what you are talking about?" Kallus chuckled before he got ready to leave. He had a meeting with General Dodonna in a quarter of an hour. He nonchalantly dropped a kiss to the top of her head before he left with, "I'll see you later."

Sabine watched on with a grin and Garazeb raised a brow since he'd not expected his friend to go public so fast. When he saw that Kiara's face took on a pale pink tinge, he figured that he'd spare the young woman some embarrassment and joined Kallus in leaving. He'd leave Sabine to interrogate her, instead. He was likely to know the result of the conversation, whether he wanted to or not, when he saw her later.