The Nest, as it turned out, was constructed from a gargantuan asteroid. There were several ships orbiting around it, including the Providence-class dreadnought that seemed to loom like a large, slumbering beast.
"It's even longer than some Star Destroyers," Wedge remarked as they watched out of the viewport of the Firestorm's bridge. "The smaller classes, at least. The newer ImpStars still outsize it."
Luke crossed his arms across his chest. "We start the fight of our new wars with the weapons of the last." He looked to the comm officer. "Do we have a transponder reading for the tags on the dreadnought?"
The comm officer checked with her screens for a moment. "Aye, ship reads as Rebel One."
"Rebel One, huh?" Wedge smiled just a little.
Commodore Serrin shrugged. "We've got a flagship now, at least. Helm, would we be able to dock at the Nest?"
After a moment of checking, the helm officer shook her head. "Negative, we'll have to take a shuttle."
Luke looked over to Wedge, then back to Serrin. "Wedge and I will fly our X-Wings over, the Commodore can take the shuttle. I think Alliance HQ should see what our prize is."
After a half hour, they had landed their ships on one of the hangar decks of the Nest. For its size, the Nest was well-equipped to service multiple ships and transports, with six hangars that Luke guessed could each service two squadrons. The Seperatists, when they had been using it, could have probably fit more, but that was the benefit of using droids.
As Luke popped the hatch for his X-Wing once the docking was secure, he saw that someone Luke supposed was of importance was waiting for them. He was a dark-skinned human, wearing a high-collared uniform complete with a cape. Luke wondered how quickly Serrin would get jealous of someone who was outdoing her in terms of flamboyant garments.
Luke slid out of the X-Wing and tucked his helmet under one arm. He approached the man, with Wedge approaching from the other direction. "Hell of a place you've got here," Wedge called.
"Well," The man's voice was smooth, confident, and utterly charming. "It was quite the find. Lando Calrissian. I technically own the Nest."
"You own the Nest?" Luke inquired, unable to hide the disbelief in his town. "How did that come to be?"
"Well, Galactic salvage law has always been an expertise of mine, but I generously donate its use to the Rebel Alliance. Besides, they gave me a nice title for it. Governor Calrissian. I oversee the Nest and all its mining and production."
"Mon Mothma must have been feeling generous," Luke remarked. "I'm Luke Organa, this is Lieutenant Antilles."
Luke extended his hand, but instead of shaking it, Lando took his hand and bowed slightly, kissing the knuckle of his glove. "Your Highness, then, welcome to my humble facility."
Luke felt a serious flush touch his cheeks. "Thank you,"
Wedge shot Luke a look that told him that all of Bandit Squadron was going to get on him later.
Serrin's voice piped up from behind them. "Well, who's this scoundrel? Since when are capes in fashion?"
Lando arched an eyebrow, as if anticipating a challenge. "Well, I don't think Imperial-cut uniforms are particularly in style at the moment among the Rebellion."
Serrin made a sniffling noise and she crossed the distance between them. "Has Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis arrived?"
Lando nodded. "We've repurposed one of the old miner's mess halls as something of a meeting place. It's not exactly the Senate halls on Imperial Center, but it's working well. We've even had several delegates from other parts of the Galaxy."
"Lead the way, then, Governor Calrissian." Luke said.
Engineers took some of the pilot's gear from Luke and Wedge, leaving them in their blue jumpsuits. Lando led them through the facility, during which Serrin and Lando discussed the Nest. The station itself had a number of old mining droids, which were reactivated and deployed from shuttles that the Sepeartists had left when they abandoned the station. They could harvest materials from the dense asteroid field around the Nest, giving a steady supply of a number of raw materials.
By the time they reached the meeting hall, Luke was itching for some caf. The last few days had been a mess. He didn't remember if he had slept for more than a couple of hours at a time. The conversation he had had with Mara weighed heavily in his mind. He wished that he could ask either parent of his for the truth.
Or Ahsoka. She was still off on her recruitment mission, and Luke had been following orders to observe radio silence until the Alliance's new communication could be set up.
He grabbed a mug of caf, noting that it was just as bad as the stuff on the Firestorm. Luke wondered if they could get the Toprawa Caf Company on their side in the coming war, for morale purposes. He set that thought aside as Mon Mothma brought the meeting to order.
Luke moved to the front of the meeting area, dressed in just his pilot's suit. He didn't match many of the other dignitaries, who were dressed in what would have been garb more suited for the Senate, instead of the converted mess hall they now occupied.
"I thank you all for coming," Mon Mothma began, her voice as calm as ever. She had the ability to keep everyone hanging on her words without sounding imperious or boisterous. The only other person that Luke had seen with that ability was Queen Breha.
"Our nascent Alliance has just taken the first steps. Between Lando Calrissian's generous find of this base, and with our new flagship, we have something resembling a fighting force. However, the fact remains that we must gather popular support. With the Empire's campaigns in Hutt Space, we have to use the situation to our advantage. For this, we have gathered here to discuss the formation of an actual government, of a Council to help administrate and direct our efforts."
This went on from some time, as each representative introduced themselves. Luke faded out, only standing and bowing politely when his own name was called. His mind drifted, wading in and out of the discussion with fading interest.
About an hour into discussions on different governmental structures for the Alliance, Luke's comm link hummed. He excused himself, and once he was in the hall, answered it. "Organa here."
"Luke," Winter's voice said. "You asked me to notify you when Ahsoka returned with the Riptide. She's inbound now, Hangar Three."
"Thanks." Luke whispered. He turned off the comm, and he started towards the hangar, getting directions from a maintenance droid on the way. As he traversed the length of the station, he felt something bubble in him, something he hadn't felt before.
Had Ahsoka known? The thought of it sent a spark of rage in him, one that he knew a Jedi shouldn't harbor. But it still festered in him.
He was waiting in the Hangar when the sleek shape of the Riptide landed. Maintenance crews started to attend to the ship, which bore several scorch marks on its hull. Luke wondered just what trouble they had seen wherever Ahsoka had been.
It was a few minutes before the hatch opened and two figures descended down the boarding ramp. One of them was Ahsoka, who seemed to have just a bit of paleness to her usual coloring. She looked tired, exhausted. The other was an old man, with a white beard and a stout, hard look to him. Luke recognized the face, though. It was one that propagated all around Imperial Command. This man was a Clone.
"Ahsoka," Luke's voice softened, the conflict in him set aside for worry for her state. "What happened?"
"Imperial troops. It was a long run back here to shake them off." Ahsoka headed down the boarding ramp. The two of them embraced for a long moment, and Luke took a second to just remind himself that Ahsoka was his friend. He had missed her. "You look well."
"Enough for wear." Luke took a step back, then looked to the Clone. "Luke Organa." Luke held out his hand for him.
"Rex, formerly Captain Rex." He extended a strong arm, and they firmly shook hands. "He's the one you were telling me about?" Ahsoka nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I had the pleasure of knowing Bail Organa. Fine man, a shame what the Empire's done to him."
"That's what this is all about." Luke gestured to the hangar in general. "The Empire's horrendous actions must be put to a stop. The representatives are meeting now to talk about governments and the like." He turned to Ahsoka. "I need to brief you and talk about some of the developments we've had."
"Of course, Luke." Ahsoka smiled. "Rex, talk to the quartermaster. They'll set you up with some accomodations."
"Sure thing, Commander. I mean, Ahsoka." Rex smiled a little. "Old habits die hard."
"Of course they do, Rex." She playfully slugged his arm. "Good to have you back."
They left the hangar, and Luke started to walk Ahsoka back to the hangar with the shuttles back to the Fleet. "The Mission to Fresia was a success." Luke said.
"I saw some of the X-Wings flying a CAP on the way in. Commodore Serrin's enjoying her new toys."
"And with the research team recovered, we'll be able to use the Nest's facilities to produce more X-Wings. But we also picked up a prisoner. Mara Jade."
Ahsoka froze in her tracks, and she stared at Luke for a long moment. "The Emperor's Hand we've been encountering?"
"Took her down on some temple world. She's sitting in the Firestorm's brig. I just have one question, Ahsoka. Did you know who my mother was?"
She looked down at the ground for a long moment. She sighed, and nodded. "Of course, Luke. Who do you think was the one who brought you to Alderaan?"