Chapter 21: Charges of treason

July 7.

Rarely had Naboo ever felt like home as at that moment. When the Admonitor left hyperspace over the planet and while she got parked at the space station, a shuttle brought down Iulius into Theed, where a few dozens people had seen the Star Destroyer and had come to cheer his return. Along them were a platoon of stormtroopers presenting their arms, and the people ready to greet him were his general staff officers and most importantly, Sekta.

Luckily for him, the handbook of a perfect imperial citizen was to always show respect to the elders and the parents, so he was justified to go in front of her and make a small bow, leaving a more intimate reunion at a later moment.

"I've returned, Mother."

Sekta made a bow too, while holding a hand on her heart. "Welcome back, Iulius."

The Grand Admiral then turned toward his officers and was immediately given the salute.

"Krybos, Bolo, Sloane. I heard you held the ground while we were away. Good job."

"Thanks, sir." Krybos replied after all three of them lowered their hands. "But there wasn't much to do except shoring up our frontline worlds."

"I'm willing to hear a full briefing at HQ."

"This way, please." Bolo invited, pointing at a convoy of cars and armored vehicles waiting for them past the main gate of the spaceport.

While they walked the fairly long distance, Iulius used the opportunity to turn toward Cody, who was part of his escort.

"Commander, make sure there is everything the crew needs for the shore leave. Also, that nobody crosses the line of decency."

"Yes, sir." the clone replied dutifully, albeit Iulius felt that his mind was absent. Quite rare for the old soldier.

Yet, it didn't take long for Iulius to get a grasp of what was going on inside Cody's head. He put a hand on his shoulder so both of them halted in their tracks. As they were already far from the crowd, he motioned the rest of the group to proceed while he made a question to the commander.

"Are you thinking about Rex?" he asked.

Unmasked, Cody saw no point in denying it. "I admit it feels strange that we met only to be separated again. But I think I understand the situation between you and your own brother, Grand Admiral."

"I see." was Iulius' answer. "So you realize there might come the time when you will draw weapons against each other?"

Cody made a slow nod. "That had been clear since the beginning. But I'd rather have us kill each other fighting for a cause that we both chose. A clone can't ask for a better fate."

Iulius wasn't sure if he could grasp how deep that statement went and what it could mean for a being that had been artificially created to be a slave, but the thing he was sure about was that Cody meant that his loyalty to the Empire was not into question, no matter how much of an emotional earthquake seeing one of his brothers, and one he was particularly attached to, had caused in his heart.

"I appreciate the thought, Commander. And your loyalty."

The clone calmly acquiesced and then put his helmet back on. "All right, enough with the self pity. The troopers earned the right to throw a party."

"You too, Commander. Try to ease up for a bit." Iulius encouraged before he finally decided to reach the convoy while Cody went away with the stormtrooper platoon that had welcomed the Lord-Protector back.

The transport was safe and quick, so as soon as they reached the HQ, Iulius asked his mother to wait while he went into the main command center to receive a report from his Admirals about the recent developments of the war.

Wherever he went, Iulius was greeted by nods, smiles, salutes and everything the officers and soldiers could do to express their gladness at having him back while they carried on with their duties. And that was certainly a thing that helped reinforce the Lord-Protector's idea that he was back into his environment, among the people he trusted.

"Welcome back to the helm, Grand Admiral." Bolo said cordially before tapping the button of the large table and bringing up a map of the galaxy with a faceted face of colors and flags. "Let's bring you up to speed."

The map zoomed first on the Perlimian Trade Route, where Iulius had achieved his greatest achievement so far.

"As you already know, we had been forced to give up on Ringo Vinda, as our forces were exhausted from the battle on Lantillies and it's very difficult to supply a major offensive through the Roche belt. Right now, both us and the Coalition are reinforcing our respective side of the Perlimian, but it seems unlikely that they will try to go through there again. Other than that, there have been skirmishes around the trade route, but we don't have the strength to push for a significant offensive, at the moment."

"What about production of new ships and recruitment?" Iulius asked.

The three Admirals looked at each other, seemingly unwilling to speak. "Maybe it's better if we save that for last." Sloane said as if there was nothing wrong at all, then she brought the map on her front: the Northern Fringe.

"My fleet has seen a bit more action, but then again, the only real battle was the unauthorized offensive of the former Governor of Agamar. There hasn't been any real shift in power, though it appears that a species of the Milky Way is building some kind of factory in the territory of the self-proclaimed D'Astan Republic. They might be preparing to push down that hyperlane."

"Ok…" Iulius acquiesced, still suspicious about his collaborators evading the previous question. "Krybos? What about the Trailing Sectors?"

Krybos took control of the map for a moment and zoomed on the asked part, the one where Naboo also laid.

"We've stuck to the main defensive line. We agreed that our best strategy is to try and retake this region, which is fragmented along many factions, but there is the huge risk that, if we spend our army on this endeavor, and the Coalition makes any breakthrough into our line, we might be unable to plug the gap."

Now Iulius was starting to get both concerned and a frustrating doubt was making way into his head.

"Has this anything to do with my previous question, perhaps?" he asked in a grave tone.

Luckily for the three Admirals, another colleague of their entered the scene, holding a datapad high and wearing the uniform of an ISB officer. "I'm afraid it does, Lord Tanis."

"Admiral Versio. I was wondering where you were." Iulius greeted cordially.

"Apologies for my delay." the Admiral replied with a respectful bow. "But, you see, just this morning we received the latest budget that had been allocated to the Mid Rim for the next semester. And...well, I needed the opinion of independent accountants here on Naboo." he said before handing the datapad to Iulius.

The Lord-Protector took a quick look, finding the line at the beginning that signaled the imperial funds granted him by Coruscant...and he didn't like it one bit.

"What in the actual...this is even lower than the last semester!" he boomed.

"Indeed." Versio said maintaining his composure. "It appears the Moffs on the Grand Council used your absence to justify the cuts."

"And how exactly do they expect us to win the war if they remove our supplies?!"

"I've looked into it. It seems like they are pouring most of the funding into rebuilding the fleets of the Core and also into Weapons Research. They're leaving us the scraps."

Iulius felt the incredible urge to slap the datapad on the table, but calling in his restraint, he managed to simply snort in frustration and put the datapad down with relative calm. "Where is General Veers?" he asked.

"He is inspecting the troops of his Army on Eriadu, he apologizes for not being here to greet you." Versio replied.

"That's fine. Just tell him to call me when he is done, I want to consult with him on our possible course of action."

"Yes, Lord Tanis."

"And what about Agents Jade and Marek? Why I haven't seen them around here?"

"They are on separate missions, at the moment." Bolo explained. "Since you didn't bring them into the Unknown Regions they returned in service of Lord Vader and the Emperor."

Iulius pondered for a second. Both Vader and Palpatine already knew that he had returned, so if they thought Mara and Starkiller were still needed at the frontline, they would've already sent them back to him.

"Also...sir…" Garrick intervened with a strange sense of awkwardness.

"What?" Iulius asked.

"I found something on the HoloNet that I think you should see."

Garrick took the datapad from the table, tapped something into it and then, after finding what he was looking for, handed it over to Iulius once again. The Lord-Protector took it and analyzed it.

What he saw was an article from a New Republic's news network talking about Darvos' arrest and charges of betrayal.


Never in her life would have Jaral ever expected to become a visitor into a prison. At least, not to see her own husband behind a ray shield.

"Please don't touch the door, Master Bridger." the guard politely noted, even in a submissive tone.

Jaral could sense that the young soldier was unable to hide a great deal of reverence toward her, and that he clearly felt sympathy for the prisoner he was leading her toward.

"Understood, thanks." she replied kindly.

It seemed like being a Jedi, and in particular one of the two who contributed hugely to the creation of the New Republic still guaranteed a preferential treatment for her. Even if Darvos was supposed to be in isolation, the guards and clerks had made sure to find all the loopholes to allow this visit to happen. And it wasn't that hard, because Jaral was never officially dismissed from her rank of General of the New Republic, meaning that she had every right to 'question' the prisoner.

In order to keep a semblance of form, she wasn't allowed to get inside the cell. She would have to put up with the heavy door keeping her husband inside, with only a rectangular viewport of reinforced glass to see through.

And when she arrived in front of that hole in the wall where Darvos was sitting on one of the lateral benches, she was at first assailed by a sense of rage at the deep injustice she was perceiving. Seeing him inside that cell like a criminal just seemed so wrong. Eventually, though, the joy of seeing him after so many months managed to to balance out her fury, and she did her best to give him a smile.

On his part, Darvos stood up from the bench and looked at her with a mixture of surprise, nostalgia and perhaps shame, a sentiment that he didn't deserve.

"Jari…" he said with trembling voice.

"Hi, love." she whispered back, herself holding back the need to cry.

They both felt the impetus to throw at each other, but they had to stop a step a way from the force field. Staring into each other's eyes, the feeling of being so close and yet so far from being together again burned into Jaral's chest, but she had to endure the pain. To appear tender, but rational. Both in order to reassure her husband and to not let the cameras record that she wasn't too biased in this 'questioning'.

"I have missed you." Darvos said while attempting a smile of sincere joy.

"I missed you too." she said gently.

Then she decided to break the gloomy mood with a quip. "How did it go in the deep darkness of uncharted space?"

Darvos huffed amused at seeing how his wife still managed to not let tragedies affect her self-control. "Well, we beat the bad guys, saved a species from extinction. I think there are many reason to consider that excursion a success."

Jaral needed a moment to formulate the next question, knowing full well that this was the most sensible topic at that moment.

"How is Iulius doing?"

Darvos understood full well where she was going with that, but apparently, he felt like he had nothing to hide. "He is still the undying Imperial that I knew. And yet, for all the time we spent working together, we never fought over our ideas. Not even once."

"I guess you two just can't hate each other." Jaral said in a positive tone.

And with that, they had to face the arduous topic at hand. It was Darvos who voiced first, defending himself with complete confidence and dignity. "True. But just as we never spoke about our ideas, none of us disclosed any secret. I didn't betray the Republic."

"I know. We'll get to the bottom of this. I just wanted to make sure you are okay."

"They didn't beat me, if that's what you are worried about."

"Of course. Otherwise, I would've been very angry." she joked before retaking a more serious tone. "Look, I doubt they will allow me to see you again before the court martial. I'll do everything I can to prove your innocence, but until then, you just say all the truth, because I know you have nothing to hide."

It certainly wasn't anything special to say, but the fact that it came from her still gave Darvos a lot more hope that they were all going to make it out of this story. After all, how could a false charge be worse than fighting the Empire?

"I just…" he said a bit discouraged. "I only wish to finally meet my daughter."

"You will, and very soon." Jaral said with no hesitation, surprising even herself how she managed to keep up the optimism. "We will be back on Lothal before you know it."

After adjusting himself to the impact of that declaration, Darvos huffed one last time. "I'll be waiting restless."

Jaral smiled at him again, then, even if it burdened on her heart, it was time to get to work in order to unmask whatever plot there was behind the arrest of one of the major heroes of the Republic. She kept eye contact until she could, then the viewport was no longer visible, so she walked outside of the isolation block, where the two guards were standing on duty. They saluted her and she returned the gesture, then finally left the facility.

Right outside the main entrance, Sabine was waiting for her, sitting on a bench, and immediately walked up to her sister-in-law.

"How is he holding?"

"He's strong, besides they won't lay a finger on him, I'm sure about it."

"So...what do we do now?" Sabine asked.

"First, did Ezra or dad call in?"

Sabine lit up her omni-tool and showed a written mail. "They are still scouring Vjun. Ezra says they might have found some artifacts, but they'll head over here pretty soon."

"Good, but I'm not staying here without doing anything. Mothma is probably too busy, but I know who can help us."

"That's my big sis." Sabine quipped. "Come on, let's get to the Bullet."


July 8.

"So we agree that the Emperor is still looking for some sort of immortality." Kota said to Ezra while they were discussing in the Master's office aboard the Salvation.

"Indeed. Though I still struggle to see the whole picture. That star map we found on Vjun led deep into the Unknown Regions." Ezra replied while reasoning loudly.

"Which, if you ask me, is a perfect place to hide. Besides, you only managed to activate it by using the Dark Side, something that I do not agree with by the way. That means we're talking about a world accessible only to the Sith."

Ezra sighed. "And now that Iulius has returned, we will have to focus on the war, too. We need to find out what the Emperor is plotting and stop it before our hands are too occupied with something bigger."

"There can be nothing bigger than this." Kota replied. "Remember: if we take out the Sith, the Empire leadership will fracture."

Ezra wasn't much in agreement with that statement. Sure, taking out Palpatine and Vader at the same time, would leave a dangerous power vacuum at the top of the imperial hierarchy that would give the Coalition a formidable edge, but even that might be temporary. If the Lord-Protector of the Empire wasn't a suitable enough candidate to take the throne, there were people like Starkiller and other Sith cultists the Jedi were unaware of who might take over the rank of Sith Lord.

These thoughts were interrupted by a beep from the intercom on the desk, followed briefly after by the voice of the ship's Captain informing General Kota that they were arriving above Lianna.

"Anyway, more than on the long-term plan of the Emperor, I think you should focus on the present. And right now, your family needs you." Kota concluded with a reassuring tone.

Ezra sighed. "Yup. I'll go make sure my sister doesn't do anything rash."

After taking his leave from Kota and his division, Ezra stepped into the orbital spaceport, managed to contact and find Sabine so he could take a shuttle toward the surface and find the Silver Bullet...right next to the Millennium Falcon.

Surprised, but seeing that the Bullet was sealed up, Ezra walked up the ramp of the corellian freighter and loudly called "Hello?!"

The answer came from Chewbacca, who screamed from the lounge for him to come over. He did that and found the Wookiee, Han, Leia, Jaral, Sabine and finally 3PO with R2 following.

"'Sup, Master Jedi." Han greeted with a two-finger salute.

"Greetings, everyone." Ezra said cordially.

"Ezra." Leia greeted as well. "Did you find anything on Vjun?"

"Just hints, maybe. Anyway, they can wait until we get Darvos out of jail." he cut short and approached the sofa where the three women were sitting.

"Good, cause we were discussing just that." Sabine commented.

"Not wasting a moment, uh? What did you come up, possibly not breaking him out?"

"He wouldn't like to be freed like that anyway." Jaral reassured. "No, we need to focus on gathering proofs that will clear his name. And right now, Mordys is our main suspect."

"But he's also an active member of the Government, so we can't just go question him." Leia explained.

"Aren't you the Senator of New Alderaan?" Han asked. "Can't you ask him to report this whole shenanigan or something?"

Ezra was confused and raised a hand. "Woah, there. Senator? When did that happen?"

"Oh," Leia remembered. "Right. It has been four months already. My people, who has settled on a new world, has officially joined the New Republic, and they elected me as their representative in the Senate. I...kinda forgot to tell you, since you seemed busy chasing around the Sith. Sorry." she apologized.

"No need to excuse yourself." Ezra reassured. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Anyway, the only thing I managed to find out is that Darvos has been denounced by a source in the Republic Navy of colluding with the enemy. The prosecutor admits that they have audio logs of Darvos talking in code to Iulius, or at least that's what they claim."

"A source in the Navy?" Sabine asked suspicious. "The only ship of the Republic that followed him into the Unknown Regions is the Liberator."

Leia nodded. "Yes. I also guessed that some officer must have ratted him out."

"Then let me handle it." Jaral proclaimed with a calm and determination that she showed only when she was dead set on something. "I have spent a lot of time aboard the Liberator, during the Korriban Campaign. I know who are those that will certainly help us."

"Hold on, if you show up there and start making questions, the culprit will certainly try to slip away." Ezra objected.

"Well, if you want to flush out this kind of womp-rat is to get where they are and let them know you're looking for them." Han said. "While your sister goes in, we can stay on guard outside the docking area of the carrier and see if there's anybody suspicious enough to be our culprit."

Jaral scoffed amused. "You really know how to go rogue, Han. Yes, it's pretty much what I want to do, but I hope that the crew will be able to lead us toward the suspected mole."

"It's a solid plan: the crew of a carrier rarely gets changed, especially since the Navy is still short on personnel. At most, since the last time you got aboard, only a handful of newbies might have taken service."

"Well, we got the plan. Let's go." Han concluded.

Ezra then turned around toward the droids. "R2, 3PO, we could also use your sensors for this. Come with us."

"Oh...if you say so, Master Bridger." the protocol droid said with not much enthusiasm.

As everybody was already walking out of the lounge to reach the exit, Ezra stretched his hands to halt Leia and Han.

"Before we go, there is also one brief thing I should mention."


July 10.

Another inconclusive debate with the Council of Moffs. Iulius was getting sick of it. No matter how apparent it was that he couldn't go on the offensive without additional resources, those old bags had only being giving out excuses upon excuses, saying that the Weapons Division had promising projects that they still couldn't divulge but that even he would find very useful for future battles.

Even when he reminded them that the Empire had lost half the galaxy and the resources it had two years before, and that if he ran out of men and ships those projects would never see the light, the Moffs simply found a cordial way to say that this was his problem to deal with.

"Unless they allow us to use Fondor again, we can't even build new Star Destroyers." Bolo grimly stated after Iulius was done narrating his conversation.

"So I guess we rule out the possibility of an offensive?" Sloane asked. "We can't possibly knock out the New Repu...the rebels and the invaders without taking serious casualties." she ended with a face seriously embarrassed at the taboo name she was about to say.

Iulius and the others didn't miss that, and honestly they couldn't blame her: every month that passed it became increasingly difficult to not recognize the multitude of new nations that had been consolidating in the Outer Rim. This wasn't just a problem of political legitimacy: by all accounts from the ISB, the new states were developing a stable structure quickly, certainly urged by the precarious position they were in.

The more those states consolidated, and their peoples started to identify with that, the more manpower would be needed to conquer and hold those territories.

"Maybe we should focus on their smaller factions. Retake a few worlds and consolidating there before moving against their strongest" Krybos suggested.

"Even that might leave us open to one of their offensives." Iulius said. No, we are not ready to attack the rebels in their home territory. Our best chance at breaking the deadlock is here in the Trailing Sectors." he added, pointing a finger at the holomap.

Sloane hummed in thought. "Most of that has fallen to Zann's private army. He might be weaker than the rebels, but based on our previous encounters with them, I don't think it will be easier."

"Actually, the Grand Admiral is suggesting this strategy because of a new development we discovered." Yagler intervened.

She tapped her datapad and the holomap on the table gave room to a symbol.

"I believe you all at the very least heard the name 'Crimson Dawn'."

"Why, yes. Another cartel that has recently escalated its actions against the Empire." Krybos said.

"True, but investigating into their attacks, it became clear why they only targeted our weapon depots: the Crimson Dawn and the Zann Consortium apparently have entered into a conflict for the control of the black market and the territories of the Outer Rim that don't fall under a relatively stable rebel state."

It didn't take long for the Admirals to see the point that was being made. "You wish to push into the pirate territory while they are embroiled in their squabble?" asked Versio.

"Precisely. The peoples of those planets will prefer our rule to the anarchy and constant violence of the pirates, provided we do not start squeezing them for resources once we retake them. However, military might alone won't win us back those territories." Iulius said, then turned his eyes specifically two of his collaborators.

"Yagler, Versio, I need the ISB to focus its resources on the Trailing Sector. Start a propaganda campaign denoting how much the Empire has changed and that we can provide peace to those suffering under the pirates. Also, do whatever you can to make sure none of the two sides prevails until our mobile army is ready to strike. I want them to wear each other out."

"It will be done, sir." Yagler replied eagerly.

Then Iulius turned toward the Admirals. "Sloane, Krybos, Bolo, you will focus on your sectors of the main front. We need to stay on the defensive. Keep your eyes open for any possible rebel or federal offensive. If necessary, let them take some less valuable worlds and let them come at your fortifications."

"Yes, sir." Krybos said also for the other two, who nodded in agreement.

Finally, the Lord-Protector turned toward the General. "Veers, keep beating the new recruits into shape. When the right moment comes, you and I will launch the campaign."

"Yes, sir. I do have to report, however, that we're having equipment shortages."

Iulius sighed. "How bad it is?"

Veers, with a gloomy face, replied in a clear voice. "So much that we need to turn down thousands of volunteers. We suspended the conscription and raised the standards of the physical tests, because we simply can't put a rifle in the hand of all those who would like to serve."

Iulius couldn't help but lightly facepalm his hand and slide it down the face, stretching his muscles in a contort expression of pain and frustration, also made evident by a grunt.

"Give me a goddamn break!"

The other officers abstained from any reaction, but their tired gazes sympathized with the Grand Admiral completely. The months that Iulius had spent in the Unknown Regions had been extremely tiresome, having to deal with a central government that behaved like the Coalition had already broken and they didn't need to give the Mid Rim forces more than the bare minimum to stay operational.

With that note, Iulius finally declared the end of the meeting. All officers except Yagler left the room, empathizing with Iulius who was leaning with his arms on the table and his head lowered.

"Not the best state to find things at your return, uh?" Yagler tried to soften the mood.

"Please don't." Iulius said in an authoritative, albeit relaxed, voice. "You sound like Qathora." and raised his head a little.

"Well, her attitude always seems able to put you in a good mood, I figured I should try it too." the young woman replied.

Iulius huffed out a bit of amusement at the attempt of his advisor and friend to cheer him up. After getting back enough mental sanity to think straight and without doubts, he turned around and asked her the next thing that he was keeping an eye on.

"Any news on the case of Colonel Tanis?"

"It's stirring up a pandemonium in the Republic, at least on the HoloNet." she said, sounding still a bit surprised. "I honestly didn't realize how popular he is among the rebels."

"Well...he is one of the few people who took Lothal. Plus, he is married to one of their Jedi heroes." Iulius conceded.

He then took a look at the hour. Outside it was already night and he had promised to go at his mother's home.

"Say, have you already eaten?"

"Uh, no sir." she asked confused.

"Then tell me what you found out after dinner. My mother has the right to hear that, too."

"I...are you sure, sir? It seems a bit...against the rules."

"There is no rule that says two friends cannot see each other out of the duty shifts. Come on." the Grand Admiral simply replied, waving a hand to persuade her.

The Agent took a moment to realize how much unusual this was, but then again, Iulius had grown to be a very peculiar imperial soldier by all accounts. She also probably felt some sympathy for the statement regarding Sekta, that she had the right to know what was happening to her other son.

As such, she followed without any more questions and they headed out of the HQ, where Qathora had already prepared the transport with the armed escort to take them all to Sekta's home, at the periphery of Theed.

After consuming dinner, the four of them gathered in the lounge and Yagler explained what she had received about the case on Darvos.

"First, and what I believe is most relevant, is that the news has gone public and half of their 'Senate' is already fractured over whether the accuse is real or not. This might be proof that the rebels are less united than we might think."

"I wouldn't put too much faith in that." Qathora said. "Their leaders are not new to squabbling, but in the end, they all agree that they have to take the Empire down by all means."

"And how can you say it?" Yagler asked a bit annoyed.

"Qathora was a Fulcrum agent for over a year." Iulius calmly interjected for her. "She has quite the insight on the internal dynamics of the rebels."

Yagler surrendered to that obviousness and didn't push the topic further. "Other than that, on the HoloNet there are many who report with pictures that the Bridger siblings have arrived on Lianna. I suppose they're trying to help your brother."

Iulius felt much more at ease hearing that, even if he didn't show that as he replied calmly. "Then he will be out before we know it."

"Do you really think so?" Sekta asked, not hiding a point of worry.

"I know what the Bridgers are capable of. Besides, they are icons to the rebels, I'm sure they will find a way to bring Darvos out of jail. What intrigues me the most is whether the accuses on my brother arrived simply because we recently fought together, or if there's something more to it."

"Something more like?" Qathora asked.

"What if some of their politicians is trying to gain leverage on the Jedi? Could they be trying to force their new association into the ranks of their 'Republic'?"

"Aren't they already allies anyway?" Yagler asked.

"Yes, but the Jedi are an extremely powerful symbol and, one must give credit, skilled warriors. The rebels have now founded multiple nations, so if the Republic manages to persuade or force the Jedi to align with it, the other nations might soon be forced into the territory of the Republic."

Qathora and Yagler looked at each other with a point of disbelief, but aware that the reasoning of the Lord-Protector was perfectly acceptable.

A half-grin appeared on the face of Iulius. "Yagler, keep observing my brother's case. I have a feeling we have found the advantage we need on the rebels."


July 11.

Keeping the prisoner tightly but gently on the arm, Ezra led him into the corridors of the ICO detention facility. He gazed at the young officer through his helmet. The blonde guy, a lieutenant of the Liberator that was still wearing his off-shore outfit, was walking with his head lowered, but his expression and his aura were a mix of hatred and shame.

Whatever reason he had to sell Darvos to the authorities, it must have been very serious.

He and Jaral brought him at the interrogation room, in front of which, at their request, Mordys had been brought by Leia.

"Master Bridgers…" he said, not hiding a hint of annoyance, yet he didn't sound panicked like they expected him to be. "May I inquire why you had me rush here? I got my hands quite full."

"Of course, Secretary. We simply brought you proof that Colonel Tanis has been unjustly accused." Ezra said calmly and stepped aside to give better room for the Secretary to look at the officer.

"You are...Lieutenant Fend, am I right? You are the one who signaled the Colonel's infractions." Mordys said without particular emotions.

The young officer raised his head and spoke with a quiet resignation. "Yes, sir. But the records I gave you were false. I manipulated them to make them appear like the Colonel was giving up information to the Empire."

Mordys looked genuinely surprised at that declaration, and Ezra also felt that he was both confused and also a little disappointed.

"Why did you do that, Lieutenant?" the Secretary asked baffled.

"I think there's someone else who deserves to hear the answer." Leia intervened calmly and nodded toward the darkened transparisteel.

Inside the room there was Darvos, sitting at the table with his hands still cuffed and waiting for anybody to come in.

He was definitely surprised when he saw Ezra walk in with one of his officers cuffed as well.

"Hey Darv. You have a visitor." Ezra quipped before simply shutting the door and let the two men alone in the room. The rest of the group was observing the scene on the other side of the glass.

"Fend." Darvos' voice arrived surprised through the speakers. "What happened? Why are you here, too?"

The other officer got near the opposite end of the table, gathered some courage and then spoke up in a liberated tone. "Sir...I was the one who got you in here."

Darvos was even more stunned. "What? What do you mean?"

"I manipulated some of the audio records of you and Grand Admiral Tanis talking to make it seem like you were giving him military secrets of the Republic."

The Colonel's jaw dropped. Fend was still standing in his place, his face showing a genuine regret, but there was still that seething rage.

"But why?!" Darvos snapped, standing up with a single jolt of his body. "You were with us in Haeleus. You know I would never betray the Republic!"

"I know!" Fend yelled, leaving Darvos even more dumbfounded. "But I just couldn't stand it to see you go all merry with that...monster!"

Darvos' expression softened. Those words clearly indicated that there was a grudge open between Fend and Iulius. "Look…" he said after a while. "I know it must have seen strange to see us go along for all those months...but I mean...he is still my brother."

"Sure...you still have one. How lucky." Fend replied with a hint of scorn.

Now, though, Darvos reacquired some calm and spoke with more phlegm. "Lieutenant. What is your point?"

Fend's face hardened too, but in an expression of sorrowful anger. "You know...I had three elder siblings. Two brothers and a sister." he started narrating. "We've been in the Rebellion for ten years, by now, right after the imperials shot our parents in front of us.

"My brothers became Pathfinders and my sister a pilot. We have gone through so much. Risked our lives continuously for the Rebellion...then Columex arrived."

"Columex?" Darvos asked, and like the Bridgers very much starting to see where this was going.

"Just a few days before Scarif and the Death Star. Your...'brother' launched his first attack against us. My sister died fighting against some TIE Defenders we knew nothing about. I had to watch her die on my sensors as the comm officer of a simple frigate. Then my brothers died during the ground assault."

Fend stopped and clearly started to sulk. He had vented out his rage, only leaving the regret and the pain at remembering the death of what was left of his family. Shortly after, he started sobbing, raising his cuffed hands on his face before squatting down.

To the surprise of the spectators, Darvos wasn't angry, he didn't lash out. Instead he walked toward his subordinate and knelt down, putting his own hands on his shoulders, simply showing that he forgave him and understood his situation.

Jaral made a bit of a proud smile at her husband, Ezra instead turned his head toward the Secretary of Defense.

Mordys sighed and turned toward him with a formal tone. "I owe you an apology and thanks, Master Bridger. The Colonel will be cleared of all charges and reinstated by tomorrow morning."

"That's fine by me." said Ezra, but he certainly wasn't going to let him off the hook with just that. "And yet, something bothers me, mister Secretary."

Mordys widened his eyes in a guarding stance, proof to Ezra that he had something to hide.

"Why is it that you didn't have those records checked out by a specialist? I'm pretty sure you could've easily found out that they were fake."

"Master Bridger." Mordys replied peremptorily. "Are you suggesting that I wanted to put the Colonel behind bars?"

"Yup. That's exactly what I suspect. So, would you please put my mind at ease and tell the truth?" the Jedi replied in a provocatively calm demeanor.

Leia and Jaral were taken aback by the sudden flaring, and even Mordys was clearly uneasy: politics were all about veiled allusions and unspoken messages, but Ezra was simply being straightforward. After taking a moment to reorganize his thoughts, Mordys tilted his head in what seemed to be a bit of a self-absolving gesture.

"I...might have jumped to conclusions too soon. But we are talking about the possibility of one of our highest officers directly having contacts with the leader of the Imperial military. I had to be careful."

Ezra decided that he didn't want to push the matter further. "I suppose you had. I'll believe it only because my brother-in-law has not been tortured in any way."

Mordys scoffed. "Did you think we would use such...imperial methods? Anyway, if there's nothing more, I should go back to work with haste."

Ezra made a short bow. "Of course. Thank you for your time, Secretary."

Mordys turned around, gave Leia a not-very-friendly gaze and then hastily walked away.

Ezra instead thanked Leia for her help and time, then the Princess and Senator also had to return to her duties for the Republic. The Jedi thus turned back toward his sister, who was watching the scene still unfolding inside the interrogation room.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

Jaral made a barely visible nod. "Just thinking how many people there are out there like Fend. People who lost everything because of this war."

Ezra sighed. "I know how you feel. But this war will be still long. We need to focus on the present, and the present tells me that Samira is finally going to meet her father in two rotations at most." he added trying to recover some mood.

Jaral appreciated the attempt and gave him a meek smile. "We also have to prepare for the trip to the Milky Way."

"Damn, I had completely forgot about that. Dad is already late for his meeting."

"I think the Empress will understand just fine. Most importantly, you're finally going to see Earth."

Indeed. There was that convocation that the Bridgers had received by Empress Benedetta to attend to. It certainly wasn't going to be just a small visit so she could meet Ezra at last. This promised to be another endeavor that would influence the state of the galaxy and of the war.

He decided to temporarily put those thoughts aside and focus on that day's success, first.