As Ahsoka, Luke, and Winter walked through the corridors of the Firestorm, escorted by two Rebel troopers, Luke couldn't help but find himself asking questions. "How did you get your hands on a carrier like this?" He asked one of the troopers.

The trooper, a Sullustan male, shot out a rapid fire answer that Luke knew just enough Sullusti to translate. "That's a better story for the Captain."

They were led onto the bridge of the ship, where Luke could immediately spot the Captain. A tall Arkanian Offshoot, she had hair even whiter than Winter's, with a streak of blue in it.

Captain Serrin wsan't particularly tall, but her makeshift uniform, a stark blue that seemed like an odd offshoot of old Republic ones, and her rigid demeanor compensated for any physical limits on her authority.

Her steely gaze focused first on Ahsoka, which Luke found to be a bit of a different experience. "The mysterious Fulcrum, at last."

Ahsoka nodded. "With Alderaan under military rule and my charge threatened, secrecy seemed to be less important now."

Serrin turned on Luke. "Prince Organa. Your Excellency, the news about Alderaan has been playing across the entire Holonet. Your mother, Queen Breha."

"As committed to protecting her people and nonviolence as ever. She stayed behind." Luke sighed. "At least the Imperials know they can't hope to rule the planet without her."

Serrin nodded. "We'll be in hyperspace another ten hours. We've been taking stock of our situation."

Ahsoka took the lead. "How did your squadron fare?" She asked.

"The Corellian Star took damage, and lost hull integrity in one of its cargo bays. We didn't lose any fighters, either."

"One of your pilots really saved our skins," Luke noted. "Bandit Leader, I believe?"

Serrin laughed at that. "Lieutenant Antilles, our best pilot. Wedge has a flair for the dramatic on occasion. Especially when he has an audience."

Wedge Antilles. Luke filed that away for later reference. "What's our present destination?"

"A point in deep space that we've played a hyperspace beacon at, then we'll chart a new course for Chandrila."

"Chandrila?" Ahsoka frowned. "We're staying in the Core?"

"I have my orders from Mon Mothma, Fulcrum. With the arrest of Bail Organa and the military being used to subjugate restless worlds, we need more than just a number of disconnected cells with singular links. No offense intended, of course."

Luke nodded. "Very well, I hope that's agreeable, Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka nodded. "I think that's about as reasonable as we're going to get." She sighed. "Why did the Empire decide to do this now?"

Serrin shook her head. "As best we know, this was done rapidly over the course of a week or two. There's been a few murmurs of possibilities, but the larger motivating factor seems to be the war with the Hutts. It's unpopular, dragging out, and becoming more costly with each passing week."

"The Emperor just wants to control everything," Luke scoffed. "The Empire hasn't been at peace for more than six months straight in more than ten years."

Ahsoka shook her head, but changed the subject. "Captain, I don't want to impose, but is it possible we can get quarters on the Firestorm for the journey?"

Serrin nodded. "We've got one or two officer's bunks we can spare, certainly."

"If it's alright with you, Ahsoka, I would prefer to stay on the Riptide."

Ahsoka looked back to her. "That's up to you."

"Winter, right?" Serrin asked. "I had heard about you. Care to try your hand at some codebreaking and intel work?"

Winter offered a rare smile. "I think I could try my hand at it." She said.

"A holographic memory's always something we like to see." Serrin offered a thin smile. "In the meantime, Commander Tano, I'd like to speak with you on what to expect at Chandrila."

Ahsoka nodded. "Your office, then, Commander?"

Serrin laughed. "You have this mistaken for a Star Destroyer, I'm afraid. I've just got a desk in the captain's quarters."

"Still better than the bridge." She noted. "Let's go."

Luke found himself looking around as the two women departed the bridge. "What should I do?" He asked, feeling a sudden sense of helplessness. For once, he wasn't on a mission, or following orders.

Serrin smiled. "I'll have someone show you to your guest quarters. You'll be allowed free reign of most of the ship, with the exceptions of engineering and other ship-sensitive areas." She gestured for the Sullustan trooper. "Your Excellency, welcome aboard."

The quarters Luke was given were certainly larger than his on the Riptide, if a little more spartan. He settled in, checking the Holonet for any news since their departure.

There wasn't much on official Imperial channels, and since he couldn't ask Winter to slice into more secure lines at the moment, he didn't have much to go off of. After about a half-hour of fruitless searching, he grew frustrated and shut off the link.

He left the quarters, eager to find something else to do. He was a little hungry, so he decided to consult with the ship's computer and check for the location of the mess. He walked through the corridors of the ship. Though still carrying the steel-gray bulkheads of an Imperial ship, there were a number of definitively non-standard decor. One of those was a crudely-painted stormtrooper helmet with the words "target practice" in blue beneath it.

He found the mess easily enough. If there was something a life of diplomacy and learning on Alderaan hadn't prepared him for, it was a bunch of pilots rowdy after an engagement.

The eight pilots were grouped around several bottles of liquor, in various shades of color and opacity. There was a blonde-haired woman lying on the table, laughing uncontrollably as a dark-haired man licked some liquor off her stomach. The man, a human only a few years older than Luke, held up a bottle of Corellian whiskey and shouted. "Let's hear it for the Bandits! Once again, outscoring the Daggers. Again."

Three other pilots let out loud whoops as they all took drinks. One of the pilots gestured to Luke. "Hey, it's one of the little nerfs we saved."

Luke smiled and walked over to the table. All of the pilots were out of their flight uniforms now, most of them wearing trousers, tank tops, undershirts, or some combination of them.

"I suppose I have you all to thank for your valiant effort." Luke said as he walked over. He gestured to a bottle of Neimoidian fire-brandy. "Mind if I grab a drink?"

One of the pilots, a huge Gamorrean, spoke. "Well, if a Prince would deign to meddle with us lousy jockeys." He had a metallic voice, tinny, and Luke realized suddenly that the pilot wasn't speaking through his natural voice, but a vocabulator in his throat, like a droid's.

"I think I can handle myself." Luke smiled. "Alderaanian boarding schools can be rather interesting." He took the bottle and poured himself a shot. "I do have one question, though. I want to know the pilot who vaped all four TIEs attacking our ship."

The dark-haired man who had just licked alcohol off of the other woman, smiled. "That would be me. Wedge," He wasn't a particularly tall human, but still taller than Luke. He extended his hand.

"Pleasure's all mine. Luke Organa." He shook Wedge's hand, then took the shot of fire-brandy. Contrary to the name, it was smooth going down, with a nutty taste to it. "That was some very nice flying out there."

Wedge smiled. "It does help when it's Imps you're going against." He said. "A headhunter's a decent enough match for one."

"And you took down four." Luke noted. His eyes met Wedge's, and he took a seat at the table. "I've always wanted to fly a snubfighter."

The woman who had alcohol licked off of her sat up. "Well, hang around the Firestorm long enough, maybe you can talk one of us into flight lessons. Silda," She extended her hand, turning the heel of it up at Luke. "Dagger One."

Luke made the courtly gesture and kissed her hand. "Pleasure to meet you,"

Wedge laughed. "Hapes, go pick on someone who knows your game."

Silda offered a sly grin. "But this one's cute, Wedge."

"You're Hapan?" Luke asked, more curious than anything else. "I didn't think Hapans ventured past the cluster."

"Our wars with the Empire have opened us up to the Galaxy at large." She noted. "Some of us like to head out on our own." A thin smile crept over her lips. "A few more of us like to kill Imperials, despite that pesky peace treaty."

Luke chuckled, then looked back to Wedge. "Where'd you learn to fly like that? I didn't think I've seen someone fly like that outside of a holodrama."

Wedge shrugged. "I was in the Imperial Academy, but I dropped out after the Empire gave power to the Diktat on Corellia. I had friends in a cell, and I ended up with Phantom Squadron."

"If you had friends in a rebel cell, why were you at the Academy?" Luke asked, now honestly curious.

Wedge shrugged. "I just wanted to go to university after a few tours."

That got Luke to laugh just a little. "I don't think I've heard that one too often."

"You'd be surprised, honestly." Wedge said.

"Okay, I do have one question, though. This ship's Imperial. How did you get your hands on it?"

"We stole it. Ion torpedoes, boarding parties," The Gamorrean explained. "We worked very hard for it." He smiled. "Voort SaaBring, Bandit Three. You can call me Piggy."

"I could imagine." Luke said, and nodded. "It's a nice prize, especially for a cell like yours. I've seen a few, but none of them as well-equipped."

"Chalk that up to Captain Serrin," Wedge said as he poured himself a fresh drink. "She used to be a pirate. Got political, and had a change of heart. She brought her fleet over, and used it to capture the Firestorm. She sent out some feelers, and got some starfighter pilots to join her cell."

Luke shook his head. "It's impressive." He took another drink of the fire-brandy, swallowing it down. "What do you think about the whole meetup on Chandrila?" He asked.

Silda shrugged. "The Chandrilans will do their usual peace-mongering and speechification. Garm Bel Iblis and the Corellians will do their usual grandstanding."

Wedge pointed his bottle of whiskey like a weapon. "How dare you, Hapes. Iblis is a planetary treasure."

"Yes yes," Silda shrugged. "It'll be like every summit that's ever been done. Lots of talking, unable to set the differences apart. Except without Bail to oversee things, it'll fall apart and someone might just shoot someone else."

Luke made a face. "Was my father really all that was keeping that together?"

"From all I've heard. The Corellians and the Chandrilans won't see eye to eye. Even the Empire's new procedures won't stir Chandrila to action." Wedge shook his head. "And despite my like of him, Iblis will take the opportunity to become even more of a warmonger. He'll want an all-out war."

As Luke took another drink of his liquor, he couldn't help thinking he was just heading into a warzone just as dangerous as the Imperials he had just escaped.