The briefing was early in the morning, which had Luke drinking an extra-large mug of bad caf. He knew that the Firestorm had been a few weeks without a supply run, just from the taste of the caf. He walked onto the bridge, where Winter was already setting up her presentation. He watched as the holographic images of Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis materialized. Luke looked out of the bridge viewport, seeing the white marble of the planet they were orbiting.

Ahsoka had a mug of caf that was resting on the holotable in front of her. She was wearing athletic clothes today, something Luke hadn't seen before. Luke idly wondered if they were owned by Commodore Serrin.

The Arkanian captain was waiting for Winter to start. In the meantime, she addressed the gathering. "Senators," She nodded. "Winter, working with the combined intelligence of our cells, has been able to piece together an intriguing process. At your leisure, Winter."

Winter started the briefing, clicking to the first still on her datapad. It was a holo of Fresia, its oceans and archipelagos shown in a rather good resolution for a holo. Score one for Imperial budgets. "Fresia, a corporate world that's primarily known for the Incom Corporation. Incom has been contracted by the Empire to produce a new space superiority fighter, a snubfighter that would be able to outperform the TIE Fighter at most levels. Called the T-65 project, it's a hyperspace-capable fighter that the Empire would use to phase out the TIE.

"However, as it turns out, the development team of the T-65 has started to harbor feelings of resentment to the Empire. They wish to defect. I've prepared a mission briefing, but the primary details are as such. Incom was nationalized last year by the Empire. As it's still in a transitory process, the system doesn't have a particularly large presence. A few airbases are the biggest concern. We have an Imperial shuttle, the Aleph, in use that we can have approach the planet. Our security codes will get us on to the planet. We can make contact with the design team and extract them."

Mon Mothma considered this a moment. "The design team, do we know the leader?"

She nodded. "Doctor Voorhorian, one of their head engineers. He's the one who made the request. We've been able to narrow down that he's in the corporation's beta facility in one of the southern archipelagos."

Bel Iblis nodded. "Beyond extraction of the team, what other objectives do you have?"

"We'll make sure that the Empire doesn't have any surviving technical data of the starships, and I'd also like to request a number of pilots to commandeer any hyperspace-capable prototypes for the T-65s."

"You'll have them. Coordinate with Commodore Serrin for a team." Iblis said. "Pick the team, and find a mission commander."

"Yes, sir." Winter nodded. "I'd like to nominate Luke for the mission command."

Both Mothma and Iblis turned to look at Luke, who hadn't spoken so far during the briefing. "I'm qualified as a pilot." Luke noted. "Besides, we need to show the design team that the Rebellion is serious about rescuing them."

Mon Mothma seemed to pause for a moment. "Very well. Lady Tano, what about your recruiting effort?"

All eyes turned to Ahsoka. "I think I've found an excellent opportunity for someone to train our ground troops. He's a former Clone Wars officer, and a good man. Tracking him won't be easy, but I've got a few ideas."

Mon Mothma nodded. "We have other operations we wish to be initiating, but those can be discussed at a later time." The holograms disappeared, leaving them on the bridge.

Ahsoka shot Winter a wry grin. "Well, got your first mission approved. Go find a team for it."

Serrin offered her own suggestions. "The Firestorm's assault team would be a good choice for the ground team. And as for pilots, loath as I am to give them up, Antilles and Bandit group are all trained on Incom craft."

"I'll go see if they'll take the assignment." Winter collected her datapad, and started towards the door.

Luke touched her shoulder, causing her to look back. "Winter, you did well there." He said, keeping his voice soft.

"Thank you, Luke." Winter smiled, and departed the bridge.

Once she was gone, Luke turned back to the Commodore and Ahsoka. "So, who's this commander that you're trying to pick up?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "It's a long shot. But if we can get him, well, it'd be a good addition." She checked the bridge chrono. "We're taking the Riptide soon. It'll be a few days, maybe a week."

"Before you go," Luke lowered his voice. "Can we talk in private?"

Ahsoka nodded, and gestured to the hatch that led from the bridge. The two of them walked over to the hatch and walked out into the corridor. Ahsoka offered him a little smile. "Walk with me," She said, and Luke followed her through the open corridors of the carrier.

"I had a dream last night."

Ahsoka looked him with a curious glance, the markings on her brow making it look like an eyebrow arching. "A dream?"

Luke sighed. "I…I dreamed of the Inquisitor who we met on our way back from Dac. Mara Jade."

Ahsoka paused, seeming to think about this for a moment. "What happened in the dream?"

"This sounds crazy, but…we danced. On Alderaan. I think…Ahsoka, I think that we shared that dream."

Ahsoka stopped in the hallway. "You shared the dream." She said, her voice very soft.

"I think so. Is that possible?"

"The Force has an infinite number of possibilities." She sighed. "The Jedi had very varied views of dreams. Obi-Wan thought that dreams simply passed. Other members of the Order believed that they were signs of the Force's will. I don't know which I believe. Luke, be careful on Fresia. Trust your instincts." She unclipped one of her lightsabers. "And may the Force be with you."

Luke accepted the lightsaber. "May the Force be with you, Ahsoka. Good luck finding this commander."

Ahsoka smiled like she had her own private joke. "He's an old friend, and he's a creature of habit. I'll bring him back."

The shuttle Aleph was one of the newer Lambda shuttles. The folding wing design seemed to be in vogue these days, Luke noted as they approached the white craft. Luke had dressed with the rest of the team in sand-colored fatigues, an Imperial uniform that saw use in the Imperial Army and Security Bureaus. It was a decent cover for infiltrating the Fresia base, and Winter assured Luke that the security codes would get them clearance to the facility. It was just a matter of locating the prototypes and securing the team.

Wedge sat in the copilot's seat of the shuttle as Luke filed into the cockpit. The team of Bandit squadron had already reached the crew compartment, leaving the two mission leaders to pilot the shuttle.

"How're we looking?" Luke asked as he took the controls.

"Like we're ready to steal a bunch of fighters from the Empire." Wedge said. "It's a good ship too. Much better than the Lambdas we had at the Academy."

Luke checked his own readings at the pilot's console. "Well, here goes nothing." He murmured as he checked the flight computer. Fresia was already in the navicom, ready for a jump once they were clear of the ship.

Wedge held up his hand. "Wait a second, got a comm coming in." He punched the transmission. "Aleph here."

"Wedge, it's Winter. Listen, I was able to scrounge up an astromech. We need something for last-minute slicing."

Wedge pondered a moment. "Have it come aboard." He said, and grinned. "Wish us good luck?"

Luke could almost hear the eye-rolling over the comm. "Keep Luke safe. Keep him from doing anything too stupid."

"No promises." Wedge said, and cut the comm.

The whistling and chirping of a droid as it climbed the boarding ramp filled the cabin. Luke looked back, and saw a chrome and blue droid. Luke gestured for the droid to enter the cockit. "Well, it's an energetic one. What do we call you?" The droid chirped with its answer. "R2-D2, huh? Alright, Artoo. Get settled in, we're going to be taking off soon."

As he started the pre-flight, the little astromech made a series of chirps and whistles. Luke couldn't help but smile. Something inside him made him feel like that, with the droid here, he was just a touch safer.