There was a desperate attempt to quiet his own fears that resulted in the opposite effect. It looked like hardened resolve to the untrained eye, but she could see the way his jaw clenched to keep his teeth from chattering and how his nails dug into his own palms to avoid obviously trembling hands. The traitor sat forward on the hard bench in his cell, shoulders hunched and the soles of his boots planted firmly as if he were ready to rock forward to stand at any given minute. He still wore the Imperial Navy uniform, even if his insignia had been stripped from it. What it must have taken for a man of his rank to be willing to betray his Empire… Well, it was time she found out. She couldn't wait any longer. Luke would get there when he got there.

Mara turned on her heel from the viewing window and moved to the cell door. The stormtrooper opened the door without a word and she paced herself as she made her way down the steps. One. Two. Three. Four. Each step solid, her boots clanking against the permasteel, and she stopped at the bottom, her green gaze focused on him.

"Arrick Los, do you know why you're here?"

The traitor looked up at her, the black eye he'd received during his arrest evident. He took a moment and Mara watched him gather himself, seemingly desperate not to allow his teeth to chatter when he released the pressure in his jaw so he could speak. Finally, the muscles eased. "The ISB seems to think I handed intel over to the enemy."

Mara tried not to roll her eyes. The ISB had once been a truly formidable arm of Imperial justice. They were unmatched in the way they drained every drop of intelligence out and crushed those that wished to do harm to the Empire. They had been impressive once, but even with only a fraction of her attention on this case Mara had brought Los in. The Imperial Security Bureau had had nothing to do with it other than allowing one of their own to defect and open up a cataclysmic security breach. Perhaps her recommendation should have included Colonel Yularen's retirement if he was willing to allow his organization to grow so lax.

"In the last three standard months you have accessed Imperial prison databases. Narkina 5, Jendorn, Maw, and even Dathomir. You've made regular checks to the prison barges."

"I'm a Transport Officer. It's my job to know where the prisoners are going and ensure they get there without mishap," the traitor snapped.

"A thirty-five percent increase from the average coming from your station."

"I'm thorough."

"Perhaps," Mara acknowledged as her gaze swept him up and down, taking in every twitch and every darting glance. "And if that's true, then you will have backup reports submitted to your superior officers that will show what case those unaccounted searches were attached to."

Los' eyes widened a fraction at that and he shifted back to put some distance between them or, possibly, to have a better view of his surroundings. There was a long moment of silence, but she could feel the shift in his emotions. "You're not ISB. This isn't an ISB holding…" He blinked, his gaze flickering to the lightsaber hanging from her belt. "You're her, aren't you?"

Mara held his increasingly nervous gaze. "I dispense the Emperor's justice. You're only a pawn, Los. Provide me with actionable intel that leads to the source of this security breach and I will ensure you have a fair trial."

The Rebel's gaze hardened at that. "There are no fair trials in Palpatine's Empire."

Behind her, the door slid open to reveal a Naval Officer. She hid her frustration behind a bland expression as she met him at the steps to keep the conversation private. "You can tell him that he can wait for me now."

A jolt of surprise flashed across the man's face. "Forgive me, but Lord Vader —"

"Natus," Mara corrected and the officer shook his head.

"No sir. We just received word that we should expect the Executor."

Dank farrik. The ISB certainly hadn't called him in, so either Vader had received word of Los' capture and was taking it on himself to try to extract the intel from the traitor or Palpatine had assigned his Apprentice to the situation. It really didn't matter. Either was a problem. Vader had the same discretion as she had - perhaps more - when no direct assignment had been given. The issue was that she'd received her assignment and she was yet to find a way to fulfill it. If Vader had chosen to interrogate Los or if the Emperor had directed him to do so really didn't matter. An argument between them would only be settled by their Master and she knew what he wanted.

Mara's raging thoughts stilled for just a moment on that. She knew exactly what Palpatine wanted from her.

No clear and subtle path had presented itself to drive a wedge between father and son and - despite that nagging little voice in her mind that told her that she'd been avoiding it to push the pain it would cause him down the line just a bit further - the security breach left behind by former Agent Kallus was dangerous. Vader would shatter the traitor before he broke him, leaving the Rebels to scatter and their Fulcrum agent the freedom to continue making fools of the Empire. But while she'd sent word to Luke to join her to buy some time to focus on this issue, this could be an opportunity. If nothing else, it gave her leverage if it had to be taken to the Emperor.

"When are you expecting them?"

"Six standard hours, sir."

"And the Aeres?"

"Has not commed us since the call was routed to you."

She pulled in a breath. Typical. That could still work. She had six hours to get actionable intel from Los. Even if Vader beat Luke there, she could send new coordinates. If Luke won the race he didn't know he was participating in, even better. Luke enjoyed competition. It was Vader that always chose to make a war of it.

He'd learned loyalty at an early age. His father had never called it that, but Luke had known what it was, even if he hadn't always understood the words associated with it. Loyalty was dedication, even when there was strain. Loyalty was trust, even when the other wasn't always forthcoming. Loyalty was devotion, even when it put his own life in jeopardy. Loyalty was love.

And Luke loved Mara Jade.

Time was limited and with what he'd learned about the Death Star, he needed to go to Alderaan and speak with Bail Organa, but Mara had called. She wanted his help. She needed his help. He couldn't tell her no, even if the more rational side of his brain screamed at him that he should. What good would offering Organa what he'd offered the man do if Palpatine used the Death Star to wipe the Rebellion out? With them gone the Emperor would have even more power than he had now and he could force a decision. Either Luke or his father would meet his end. It was the nightmare that stayed with him long after he woke and bubbled into a fear that he was desperately trying to use steady his own resolve. They lived in dangerous times and every step counted, but what good would it be to stop Sidious from destroying part of his family if he pushed the women he loved away in the process?

So Luke had gone. Of course he'd gone. And he would help her with whatever assignment she wanted his help with and then jet over to wherever he found Han Solo to hitch a ride to Alderaan. Simple. He hoped it would be, at any rate.

He didn't recognise the ship that he'd received coordinates to, but he didn't have any trouble boarding. The Empire recognized the Aeres, even if it was hit and miss if Imperials recognized Lord Natus himself. He strode in with every confidence and made his way back to the prisoner block where she'd told him that she'd meet him. What she needed, he wasn't quite sure of. Presumably he'd find out when he got there.

"Wait here," he instructed Barrix - the single stormtrooper he'd chosen to bring with him - when they came to the cell.

Luke was reaching for the panel as the door slid open, Mara appearing there. Her gaze was sharp, as if she were coming out of an intense interrogation. It took a moment for that gaze to fix on him with any recognition, but once it did it softened a fraction - only a fraction - and she tilted her head to the side. "Good of you to join us."

"I'm a talented pilot, but even I haven't cracked how to push a ship faster than the hyperspace lanes'll allow," he offered with a shrug and risked a glance past her. Deep in the cell was a single man, cuffed and his chin rested against his chest in utter defeat. He wore an Imperial Navy uniform that had been stripped of its ranking badges and his feet were bare against the cold permasteel. He turned back to Mara. "Defector?"

"Traitor," she specified. "He's working for Fulcrum."

The name struck a different chord than it might have only a couple months prior. "What did you get from him?"

"A location."

"Their base?"

"The drop. We'll intercept the intel that he left there prior to being captured. Kallus will come looking for it."

"You seem confident on that one."

"They've just lost a major asset and they'll be desperate for the last scrap of intel they can gain from him. We can use that. You're good with taking the Aeres, right?"

Luke studied her for a long moment, working to discern just how much she knew about the situation and how much she was relying on the way people so often worked. It could be that Los had given her everything from the location to his procedure to an expectation on how their Fulcrum agent would react. They would have contingencies in place, certainly. And if the intelligence that Los had left for them was important enough, perhaps Mara was right. Kallus would come to get it, despite the risk. Not that she was giving him anymore than she had, it would seem.

But loyalty was trust and someday, perhaps very soon, Luke would desperately need Mara to trust him, even when she didn't understand. For now, he'd choose to trust her and hope that it didn't put him at odds with his unconfirmed alliance with Bail Organa.

Imperial officers scurried to the walls of the corridors as Vader stalked through, each man and woman standing with their spine straight and eyes forward, a bit of sweat gathering as he passed them. They didn't matter. Only the prisoner that he'd received word that they held on their ship was of any importance to him. They had him. He wanted him. It should have been a simple demand.

And it would have been, even with Mara Jade slipping in from the shadows and trying to steal the intel away. She had no immediate exit, at least as far as his own intelligence had provided him. He cared little for if she knew what the traitor had to say or not. What mattered was what she was capable of doing with that information. Nothing. That had been the aim, at any rate, but between the time that the intelligence had reached him and when the Executor had come out of hyperspace, Jade had secured a ship. And not just any ship. She'd left out on the Aeres.

Darth Vader felt his temper boil as the officer relayed what he knew, his anxiety showing in the way that he stammered and twitched. It was irritating. It was a waste of time.

"And did you not think I wished to speak to her directly?"

"My lord?" the young officer managed.

He too was a waste of time. Vader's fingers twitched and the officer's nick twisted until it snapped. The Dark Lord loosed a frustrated sigh that sounded like a typical release of breath through his mask. He turned to the officer - higher or lower rank mattered little - that had been standing behind the now-dead-man. "Where is the prisoner?"

Fear permeated the room, giving him the answer without words: not only had Jade taken the intelligence with her on his son's ship, but she'd taken the source of the intelligence as well. The girl had overstepped herself this time. Emperor's Hand or not, this had not been her assignment. Los had not been hers to take and, if she managed to use him to get to their traitorous ISB agent, Vader would make sure that he was there to retake control of the situation. If she had gone to Luke out of sentiment or in an attempt to use son against father, she'd sealed her own fate on this one.

The Dark Lord moved past the sniveling officer and he fell to the floor, writhing as he struggled to breathe. He would find them. He could always find his son.

The change had happened gradually over the last nearly two decades. The rebellion had started with just a handful of people, and certainly fewer than they had needed. Bit by bit it grew. In fragments and in fits and starts, often with every sign pointing to destruction over victory. At discovery before they were strong enough to survive the attack that would swiftly follow.

But then, somewhere along the way, it had started to pull together. There were still outliers like Saw Gerarra's group, but there had been a shift in the rebellion that Bail had almost given up on. The Alliance was still new and it often felt like it rested on shifting ground, but it was there. If they just had a little more time, they could gain the footing they needed. Padme's son could give them that, especially if what he'd told Bail was true. They needed him. Bail just had to convince them of that.

There was a buzz of activity at the base on Yavin IV to the point that Bail almost hadn't received clearance to land. When he finally set down he found himself dodging pilots and foot soldiers alike. Something was happening, but no one stopped long enough to fill him in on what.

He made his way into the temple where the faces began to look familiar. It wasn't until he reached the inner chambers that he found the person he was looking for. Mon Mothma stood speaking with an ISB defector that had become one of their leading Fulcrum agents. With them stood a dark haired agent that Luthen Rael had brought into the fold before his untimely demise. The smaller nodded in agreement before turning on hee, melting into the crowds of people as Bail moved towards the remaining two.

"Senator Organa," Kallus greeted, his topside Coruscanti accent standing out amongst the collection of beings from all around the galaxy.

"Captain," the former senator greeted after a quick glance at the insignia on his jacket. "Mon, when you have a moment?"

"Keep me apprised," Mon directed at the Fulcrum agent and he gave her a particularly sharp nod born out of years of Imperial training.

"Yessir." He took the dismissal, leaving Bail and Mon standing in a pocket amongst the chaos.

She loosed a soft sigh. "One of our Fulcrum assets has been compromised. Arrick Los."

"The Imperial officer with access to the prison systems?"

"One in the same."

"Is this a rescue mission then?"

"Precaution. Los knows the location of this base. If he's broken, we won't have much time before the Empire comes for us." Discomfort lay under each word, but rather than explain she shook her head. "I hope you've brought better news."

Bail pushed a breath out through his nose, glancing around. "Yes and no. Luke Skywalker paid me a visit at my home."

He watched her reaction, curious if Ashoka had let anyone but him in on the secret about Anakin Skywalker's fate and Padme's son. From the sadness that pulled at her, it appeared she knew. "Is there anything left of the boy after this long?"

"More than I would have suspected, if he was telling me the truth."

"About what?"

"A weapon. He called it a Death Star. Aptly named in that, when completed, it's expected to be able to destroy an entire planet."

Mon Mothma took in the information with the same measured grace that he'd known for years in the Senate. "That explains the rumours."

"Rumours?"

Mon Mothma glanced around the room. "No one knows for sure. We've only heard pieces about a defecting pilot with information. Saw caught hold of him before we could."

Bail sighed heavily. "He won't see the light of day again."

"Likely not."

"Luke may be able to help with that. He said he has an in with the director of the project. He's convinced him to conduct an experiment, see how far it's come along."

"And he just gave you this information?" Mom asked skeptically.

"He wants out."

His old friend pursed her lips together. "Vader's son… a lot of risk with that."

"He is Padme's son as well."

"Even so…"

He had banked on her affection for the late senator from Naboo to carry enough weight. What he hadn't been ready for was the Alliance facing a security breach that could send them scurrying off to all corners of the galaxy. It hadn't been that long since some of them had fought the Battle of Atallon. Another setback would delay all the progress they'd made.

"I understand the risk. Even more so in this moment —"

"If we take it to the council now, they'll never agree to it. Sealing the breach Los' capture has opened up is paramount."

"Even with this Death Star looming?"

Mon Mothma's auburn brows drew together at that and Bail watched the subtle lines in her face deepen. "Even with that," she acknowledged softly, the strain making it into her voice as well. "I'm not saying no. Only patience."

"Something tells me he doesn't have a lot of that, but… I'll make it work."

She reached a hand out, her fingers light against his arm. "Good. Give Breha and Leia my best."

"Of course." He watched her turn to leave, but didn't move himself, even as others scurried around him. They were standing on a precipice, and one wrong step would send them crashing down. Promises made that couldn't be kept might make an enemy of a friend, but for his part, he'd fight to make sure the promises he made to Luke were honoured.

He just had to make sure Luke was willing to fight for the same.

Anger followed them as the Aeres sped through hyperspace, the sharp and bitter echoes through the Force familiar. It wasn't aimed at him, though, at least not directly, which left Luke with the more likely possibility that Mara and his father were competing for the same bit of intel and Mara had gotten to it first. It certainly wasn't the first time the two had clashed over an assignment, but with his own position precarious enough, he didn't think he wanted any surprises coming from either of them.

He found Mara standing alone in a large, empty room with a viewing window that took up the majority of the space-side wall. She didn't turn to look at him as he entered, but instead her gaze was fixed on the streaks of stars, a muted conflict all he was getting when he reached out through the Force.

"Everything's set with Los in the brig. You still want to take him down with us?"

Mara didn't look over at the question, but her own unsteadiness seemed to even out as she focused on the task at hand. "Yes."

"He's a liability."

"He's a guarantee. If I know anything about how the ISB trains their agents, Kallus will have eyes and ears all over the town next to the base. If he knows we have Los there, it'll put the pressure on him to move."

Luke considered the strategy for a moment. She'd spent far more time around the ISB than he had, even with his time stationed on Lothal when Kallus had been working for his father. It was one of the reasons that Palpatine had tasked her to help plug the security leaks created by Kallus' defection. If the Empire was good at one thing, it was drilling the same exact training into each and every member of a particular group. Stormtroopers, pilots, Imperial Security Bureau… It was rare that an Imperial soldier stepped outside of the carefully constructed box, and even when they did - even when they went as far as Kallus had - there was always going to be a trace of that training pulling on them and giving someone like Mara a weakness to exploit.

"Still doesn't explain why I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

"In my experience, you have no trouble finding a ride when you need to hop systems," Luke answered.

"I wanted this one."

"You do get what you want."

That pulled the tiniest of smiles from her. "And you don't?"

"So you're telling me that I'm just the ride?" He waited and her mental walls solidified a little bit more as if she wanted to make doubly sure that her private thoughts were her own. "Or did you steal this out from under my father and you're hoping he'll be in a more generous mood if I'm along?"

Finally she broke her staring contest with the stars and turned to look at him. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Luke chuckled. "I can just feel it two systems away. He's not happy."

"He's never happy."

He loosed a breath, willing the frustration that was bubbling up inside of him away. "I'm not a tool in your weapons depot, Mara. I get that you've been wrapped up in trying to plug the intel leaks with Kallus' defection, but I don't like being used against my father. You know that."

There was a long moment and he felt that subtle conflict just under the surface again before she pursed her lips together. "That's not why you're here. I called you before I knew he was on his way. I didn't want some faceless, nameless troopers with me on this one. I wanted someone that I could trust. That I know has my back if something goes wrong. That's why I called you. That's why you're here."

Luke let the words sink in and swirl around his mind for a moment. They felt true, even if she wasn't saying everything. She never said everything.

"Are we good?"

He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Of course. Just… don't ask me to play mediator between the two of you. That never goes well."

Mara snorted and Luke tilted his head towards the door. "It's a great view from here, but even better from the bridge when we come out of hyperspace."

He watched her smile break through, small and real, and he couldn't help but echo it.

They made it to the Jendorn system without mishap and left the Aeres in orbit as they took a shuttle down to the planet below, choosing to land at the small spaceport in town rather than the larger one inside of the Imperial prison compound, Los in tow. It was busy, crowded with both locals and a heavy Imperial presence alike. Mara scanned the crowd as Luke handled their docking fee, trying to calm her mind enough to allow her feelings to pick up on anything that her eyes might miss.

"None of us are walking away from this," Los said from her side, the first words he'd spoken since they'd left out on the Aeres.

"I promised you a trial. I didn't bring you here to execute you."

"I didn't say you'd be the one to kill me."

Mara risked a glance at the man, resolve set firmly into the lines on his face. Behind them, Luke approached and whatever hesitation or questions he'd had previously had been put away. He was focused. Good. Something deep inside of her said they'd need every bit of that.

His blue gaze slid over to latch onto Los. "What are we walking into?"

The captured defector swallowed hard. "Down the main street, off to the right there's a building with a market in the alley. Three flights up and at the far end there's a room. That's where the communication system is hidden. I told her all that already."

"That's not what I mean," Luke answered lowly.

"Then what do you mean?"

Blue eyes flickered to meet green and Mara didn't like the sudden shift in his mood. Something was wrong - something that she'd missed between the search for intel and Vader and her Master's directive all warring for a place at the forefront of all of this - but even Luke didn't know what.

Nothing appeared to be out of place, and if they gave the Rebels any more time they would take off with the intel and Vader would find a way to steal Los from her. She'd walk away with nothing save for the Emperor's disapproval in her distraction. "Let's go."

They moved through the streets on high alert, the buildings made up of the yellow and orange clay native to the planet on either side. Chatter echoed from the market Los had spoken of as they rounded down the way.

They were five steps away from the entrance when the shots rang out, a fraction of a second's warning through the Force barely giving them enough time to draw their lightsabers. One blaster bolt ricocheted off of Luke's crimson blade, searing the outer wall of the building. The second hit its mark.

A sharp curse left Mara as their prisoner dropped hard and she followed the trajectory of the shot to see a figure on the rooftops. "There!" she shouted, motioning.

Luke didn't say a word, but leapt into action as the figure took a running leap from his perch to the building they'd been about to enter. The building the intel was stored in.

Los coughed hard from where he'd crimped and Mara took a knee next to him, civilians running and screaming all around. "You knew Kallus would take you out."

The dying man choked on a mirthless chuckle. "It's not Kallus you should be worried 'bout."

Shouts from stormtroopers on their way into the middle of the chaos drew her attention as Los slipped away. Let them deal with the body. She'd dragged Luke into this. While he could likely handle whatever was up there, he shouldn't have to do it alone. She wouldn't let him fight it alone.

TBC

Notes: I live! Sorry for the delay on this chapter. This has definitely been one of those chapters where I'd write scenes just to scrap them for a different angle halfway or more through. It's been a rough one to write, but hopefully the back half of it will be a bit easier now that we've hit the brunt of the action for it.

Next Time: Luke is caught between loyalties on multiple fronts.