Mara Jade found meditation to be a hard exercise. Her Sith training was steeped in mastering her passions, of letting her be the master of her own feelings. Meditation was required to help her tap into the more intricate side of the Force. She had to force herself to sink into the Force, to give herself to it.

Somewhere, out there, was Luke Organa. He had evaded her twice now. Once, with his diplomatic protection, and then again with the rebel scum. She hadn't ever had someone evade her like him. It was slightly infuriating. She dismissed the thought of the rebels, and the irritation she felt from her failure to capture him.

She swam in the currents of the Force, opening her up as her Master showed her. It was that opening that she made that allowed a pang of urgency to be felt. It roused her from her meditation, and made her open her eyes. "Blast," She hissed, and walked to the desk she had. She activated the holocomm, knowing that it was one of the Emperor's most trusted advisers who would be summoning the meeting.

Normally, there would be eight present for any meeting of the Black Council. The eight most important Force-using servants of the Emperor, his Apprentice excepted, were usually gathered at intervals to discuss various projects.

There were only two images present. Sariss, one of the mysterious Prophets, was present, though she had a look of annoyance on her features. The other member of the Council present was the Grand Inquisitor. The Pau'an man was thin, gaunt, like many of his ilk.

"My colleagues," He began, speaking in an educated voice. "I have news to report. The rebel cell I have been tracking on the Outer Rim has yielded rewards."

"Did you find the candy they had been stealing from younglings, Inquisitor?" Sariss hissed. The Prophetess was no lover of the Inquisitorium, Mara knew that much.

A thin smile revealed sharp, needle-like teeth. "We have a Jedi in our custody. He refuses to give us his name, or any of his comrades, but in due time we will have extracted this information from him." He promised.

"My, Inquisitor," Mara said. "Not even a name. Most prisoners of war, you can at least get that from them."

The Inquisitor swung his gaze to Mara. "I think you greatly overestimate your value to the Emperor." He stood up just slightly straighter. "I will keep the Council advised of any developments." The image of the Inquisitor disappeared, leaving Sariss and she alone.

Mara allowed herself the slightest smile. "I think that I enjoy teasing him a bit too much."

"I concur," Sariss remarked, and the blond woman sighed. "I have seen this Jedi the Inquisitor has captured, and I know that the Inquisitor will fail in his duty."

Mara arched an eyebrow. Mara did not believe that the Prophets of the Dark Side were as truly talented as they led people to believe. She did not put as much faith in the intangible side of the Force, that anyone could properly predict what would come.

"It's the first Jedi capture since I've joined the Council. Impressive." Mara remarked.

"It's been nineteen years since the New Order. The most the Inquisitors do are hunt the rumors of Jedi and chase wild thranta." She huffed. "Still, it's impressive. I await word of his failures. And, oh, Mara?"

Mara leaned back against her desk. "Yes?"

"Be careful about your quarry. This prince is strong in the Force. I have seen him in my meditations, and I can see he will be pivotal in the upcoming struggle." She closed her eyes. "May the Force be with you, Mara Jade."

"Thank you, Sariss." Mara said, and she cut the transmission. She felt unsettled by the whole ordeal. She knew Luke Organa would be hers, and she would deliver him to the Emperor. She didn't fail.

By the time Luke and the Firestorm got to Chandrila, the week had passed by like a blur. There wasn't a second where Luke wasn't busy. The diplomatic preparations, then the training with Ahsoka, filled his days. Evenings were occupied with simulator flights, hurried meals, and a few minutes scanning the Holonet news for any mention of Alderaan and his mother.

The shuttle to Chandrila's largest orbital platform, Hesril Four, was quiet as the Theta-class shuttle touched down. Luke focused on one of the meditations Ahsoka had shown him, trying to calm himself before the fun, as Winter had put it, began.

Winter was busy piloting the shuttle, with Ahsoka and Luke sitting in the rear seats. Ahsoka looked over to Luke, whispering. "Are you alright?" She asked, her voice soft.

Luke considered that a moment. "I will be. Just some mynocks in my stomach." He assured her. "Trust me."

Ahsoka smiled. "Of course I do, Luke. Just remember, they can talk a big game, but you are all there as equals."

Winter looked back to them as the ship was engaged with the docking tractor to Hesril Four. "Anything I should keep an eye out for while you two are at the negotiations?" She asked.

"Lock down the ship. We'll probably be several hours, so feel free to go explore thestation."

Winter thought about that for a moment. "I think I will." She said.

After the ship was in the hangar bay, they all filed out of the shuttle. Awaiting them was a small honor guard, wearing crisp blue Corellian Sector Navy uniforms. Luke was sure that their helmets actually shone with the lights of the hangar bay. In one unified motion, they clicked their boots, and the door to the hangar bay opened.

Garm Bel Iblis cut a fierce figure as he entered the hangar. The Corellian wasn't particularly tall, but the former Senator had a determination in his stride that Luke had only seen in a few people before. His dark hair was blemished with streaks of gray, which hung at about his shoulders. His own clothing had an air of military or privateer look to them, with near lines and knee-high boots.

Bel Iblis strode over to them, where he met Luke's eyes. "Prince Organa. Garm Bel Iblis, formerly of the Imperial Senate. It is an honor to meet you, and a pity that you are unaccompanied by either parent of yours."

Luke settled himself, summoning every inch of the diplomacy his parents had taught him. "Your words and thoughts are greatly appreciated. My father's arrest just proves the Empire's tyranny, and even as we are here, my mother works in her own ways to resist the Empire's occupation of Alderaan."

A sudden dawn of realization came across Garm's face, and Luke wasn't quite sure what it was at first. "Well spoken, Your Highness. Your mother's grace is apparent."

Luke allowed himself the thinnest of smiles. "Let me introduce my two companions." He gestured to Ahsoka. "My bodyguard and advisor, Ahsoka Tano."

"Senator Bel Iblis," Ahsoka nodded. "I remember you from my time on Coruscant."

Garm allowed himself the most roguish of smiles. "Well, I like to leave an impression. You must have been a youngling when I left the Senate before the Military Creation Act."

"Not quite a youngling, but before my apprenticeship began."

Garm turned back to Luke. "You travel with a Jedi? My, I underestimated the resources Alderaan's royal house had at its disposal. And your other companion?"

"Winter, my sister and friend." Luke said. "As per the request, I will bring Ashoka as my one aide into the meetings."

"Yes, Mon Mothma wants the talks kept as quiet as possible, so only the representatives and one aide are allowed." He snorted. "Mothma's typical trickeries." He gestured for them to follow. "We can begin immediately."

Luke lowered his voice as he spoke to Winter. "Do some recon. Talk with some of the Corellians and Chandrilans."

Winter smiled a little. "I'm sure I can find something out." She said, and slide towards the hangar door.

Luke, Ahsoka, and Bel Iblis started towards the doors to the hangar. Once they were in the hallway, the Corellian took the lead, walking them through the station. As he did, he spoke. "Now, I'm sure you're aware that this meeting is primarily to discuss the possibility of forming a military alliance between cells."

Luke allowed himself to make a passive tone to his voice, as if imagining aloud. "I would have thought that this was also to see about creating a unified leadership through which we could coordinate our efforts and present a single front against the Empire."

Bel Iblis looked over his shoulder at Luke, a faint smile on his lips. "Well, you've certainly got the brains of the family too. Let's get to work, then."

As they walked through the station, Luke could sense something off. He felt that Bel Iblis was hiding something, and he wasn't sure what-yet.

They reached the meeting room, a circular room with a center table. The room only had three occupants. One of them was a Corellian woman, with dark skin and wearing the same faux-uniform the honor guard had.

Mon Mothma and her aid sat at the table. Mothma was a woman of middle-age, fiercely intense in her gaze. She had auburn hair, with icy eyes and a composed stance. "I see we are all here." Mon Mothma rose, and she bowed her head politely. "Prince Organa,"

"Senator Mothma, a pleasure to finally meet you." Luke walked to the table. He gestured to Ahsoka. "My aide and bodyguard,"

"Ahsoka Tano." Mothma said. "I hadn't seen you since your trial in the Senate."

A little smile crossed her features. "That was quite some time ago." Ahsoka murmured. "I think we should start."

"Of course," Mothma motioned to the chairs, and Luke sat down in one of the chairs provided. Bel Iblis sat down in one the others, where his aide supplied him with a number of datapadds.

"Before we begin," Luke said. "Let's go through a stock of exactly who is bringing which groups to the table."

Mothma nodded. "Indeed. The Chandrila delegation represents Chandrila, as well as many Inner Rim and Colony factions who find the Empire's extreme warmongering to be detrimental to galactic society. Chandrila has worked with the Bothan SpyNet to help coordinate many of these Republic-oriented groups and organize them."

"Bothans," Bel Iblis snorted. He sighed, then continued. "I represent the Corellian sector here, as well as a few bandit groups that will for the moment remain nameless."

Luke paused for a moment. "I represent the former government of Alderaan, and the contacts that we had made in linking the cells throughout the Outer Rim and the Empire."

That gave Bel Iblis paused. "That would mean…" He looked to Ahsoka. "You're Fulcrum."

Ahsoka gave the smallest smile. "I'd like to join you at this table as an equal, not just an aide."

"In truth," Luke said. "She's the one you really want here, not me."

Mothma looked over to Luke for just a moment. "I think we can accept a fourth member of these negotiations."

One of the aides produced a fourth chair, which Ahsoka relaxed in. Ahsoka brought out her own datapadd. "As Fulcrum, I serve as the liaison for a score of rebel cells. All told, we have about sixty ships in service, along with ten active squadrons of fighters. One of those ships is the Firestorm, which we came here on. There's some assorted small craft as well."

"That's impressive." Bel Iblis noted. "That many cells must take quite a bit of work to run."

"They operate on their own, but they do need coordination and they can give me intel." Ahsoka supplied.

Bel Iblis nodded. "That's exactly what we need, though. A military hierarchy so that we can organize the cells, and strike a blow against the Empire."

"Violence in itself is useless without goals to use it for." Mothma said.

Suddenly, Luke understood that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had hoped. He glanced over to Ahsoka and realized that this wasn't going to be settled in one afternoon.