Chapter 30

The Alliance Assembles

Luthen and Thrawn stood silently on the bridge of the Chimaera, the only sounds provided by the crew hard at work carrying out their instructions. It had been two years since Thrawn had liberated the Chimaera and its two sister ships from the Imperial fleet yards at Kuat, and he had selected and trained a crew for his flagship that worked with precision and efficiency. They no longer needed him looking over their shoulders or reminding them of their tasks except for when carrying out the most creative of his maneuvers. Preparing for the fleet's departure from the world they orbited while waiting for their commander to return from it to the flagship certainly did not tax them. And so Thrawn stood, perfectly still and back straight, looking at the world below while Luthen stood to his side watching the Chiss Admiral. There was nothing left for them to say to one another and neither man had a propensity to waste words.

The cold silence continued as Anakin's shuttle made its way from the planet's surface and docked. It did not break until he entered the bridge, his long black cloak flowing behind him as he, in his heavy boots, strode across the floor. Over the years he had found his way back to the armor of his clone wars days, with its heavy mantle covering his shoulders and the metallic gloves and bracers going up nearly to his elbows. Even the black tunic that covered the rest of his upper body concealed a plastoid layer that granted significant protection against all but lightsabers and the strongest blasters. The weight of this armor made his steps heavy but not slow. He crossed the bridge quickly and called out to his advisors as he approached them, "Report!"

"Your plan was successful, Commander Skywalker. After our raids on Korriban, Dromund Kaas and Ziost the remaining Sith Worlds under surveillance had their residents and contents evacuated, as you predicted. We were able to track the ships and intercept them," Thrawn said.

"Prisoners?" Anakin asked.

"Many attempted suicide as our teams boarded their ships, but we were able to revive a few, and a few were too cowardly to do was they were clearly instructed to do. They await your attention," Thrawn said.

"And it will be my attention alone Thrawn. We don't want any more mishaps like we had with Tarkin," Anakin said. He liked to keep Thrawn in his place, and reminding the Chiss of his rare failures was the best way to do it, though even Anakin had to admit that the method of Tarkin's suicide would have been difficult to predict or detect. He had infected himself, or been infected at Palpatine's orders, with a disease that, while chronic, was very easy to treat. He had been carrying around the medicine with him when he had been captured, and it was a substance easy to find on almost any world. But with a discipline that even Anakin had to admit was admirable, he had refused to tell his captors, and so died to protect the information he carried.

"The Imperial response?" Anakin responded after taking a moment to enjoy Thrawn's obvious annoyance.

"A full fleet group has been moved into Sith space in an attempt to engage us. They have not been difficult to evade. They do not appear to know of our hyperspace route in and out of the region. We are able to leave whenever you wish," Thrawn answered.

"It's time then," Luthen said.

"If we attend," Thrawn replied.

Anakin looked between his military commander and the head of his intelligence network, not bothering to hide his weariness at their ceaseless sparring. It had been Luthen who had masterminded Thrawn's capture and recruitment, but since that day their divergent interests had made rivals of the two men. And so it had not been surprising, when the call for an alliance of rebel groups, which Luthen had been subtly suggesting for years had come through, that Thrawn would oppose it.

But the long running argument between the two about cooperation with the Jedi and their forces did not matter now. The Alliance was called by Padme, who, Luthen's spies had confirmed, had left the safety of hidden Attolon.

"We are attending," Anakin said. "We will take the Restoration. Admiral, break the rest of the fleet up. We rendezvous after the meeting at that empty system near Bothawui."

"Of course Commander," Thrawn said. "I assume that I will stay with the Chimaera."

"You assume wrongly," Anakin said. "If successful this meeting will involve strategic planning, and I want you there for that."

"It would be a shame to lose Thrawn's anonymity after so many years of protecting it," Luthen said.

Anakin noted once again to himself the way Luthen insisted on treating him like a fool, as though Anakin did not know that Luthen had revealed Thrawn's identity to the senior leadership of the Jedi fleet long ago.

"We will be among friends, or at the very least, those who will not go running to the Empire," Anakin said. "Besides Thrawn, you don't think the fact that you have slowly pushed the Empire away from Chiss space is some secret, do you? They could not effectively project power against your people now even if they wanted to. You have seen to that. The only force remaining in the galaxy that could threaten the Chiss Ascendancy is ours, which it will not do, so long as your word is kept. Who else would have done this but you?"

"This is merely a side effect of our strategy. Certainly it is a happy one for me, but I assure you Commander, that I am not misusing your resources," Thrawn said slickly.

Anakin thought for a moment about what it was about him that made his underlings conclude that he was a naive fool. He supposed it was a natural bias against those strong in the Force. Those without such gifts assumed it was the Force alone which explained the power of those who had it, and so thought that they must not be as smart or as crafty as those whose accomplishments came without it. The weak would always find ways to hide their weakness from themselves, Anakin supposed. But they did need reminders from time to time. With a slight flick of his finger he applied the smallest perceptible pressure across Thrawn's neck. It felt to the Chiss like someone pulling a rod under his chin.

"Remember that your mind is not some black box into which I cannot see, Admiral," Anakin said.

Thrawn took a step back and rubbed his neck. His years serving under Skywalker had not allowed him to become comfortable with such displays of his master's power, but they had rendered him able to stifle the natural terror such displays elicited. He removed his hand from his neck and took a deep bow. "Commander."

"As for you Luthen, are you going to pretend this conference is not entirely your doing?" Anakin asked, his tone threatening.

"No. Mon Mothma arranged it, but I got the ball rolling, provided the resources necessary to convince the right people," Luthen said without a hint of fear.

"Convince?" Anakin asked, his curiosity piqued.

"There are elements of the various networks that Mothma and Organa have contact with that would not have been comfortable with a non-military leader for any conference," Luthen said.

"And did you comfort them, or did you silence them?" Anakin asked.

"A bit of both. Men like Saw, they just needed some talking to, a little encouragement in the form of resources. But there are some former CIS types who were hesitant to accept Amidala, given their history," Luthen explained.

"Are? You disappoint me Luthen," Anakin said.

"Were," Luthen said with a barely perceptible grin.

Anakin smiled. He had some idea of the identities of the former Separatists that had been invited to the conference by the two Senators, and who would have objected to Padme. He only regretted that Luthen's methods of eliminating problems were normally so quick and silent. Former leaders of the Trade Federation deserved far lengthier torments. "I trust you have not compromised the usefulness of their cells."

"All of them had internal rivals, or ambitious would be successors," Luthen said.

"Cultivated by you no doubt," Anakin said. When Luthen nodded Anakin asked, "How long have you been planning this?"

"I developed those options before deciding on the need for this conference. Neo-Separatists have always been a worrisome set. They aren't really committed to destroying the Empire. I needed to be sure that if the Empire made a deal to give them autonomy that we would not lose them," Luthen answered. "So?"

"What?" Anakin asked.

"You know I went behind your back to get this meeting. Are you going to kill me for it?" Luthen responded.

"Why would I kill you for organizing a meeting I plan to attend?" Anakin asked offhandedly. "Admiral Thrawn, rendezvous with the Restoration so we can get on our way. Let us see what the Jedi and their friends have for us."

Han Solo sat in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, contemplating the mistakes that had turned him into a glorified chauffeur and messenger boy. The first mistake had been not ignoring the job to transport the Senator when there was all that cloak and dagger stuff involved. He knew better than that. Less than a year out on his own and even he knew not to get mixed up in that kind of work. Then he had gotten off the Falcon when there was no reason to. He should have just stayed in the ship, done the job, gotten his pay and left. Then he decided to get into an argument with two children. If only they had not been such obnoxious little twerps. Then he had completely failed to sweet talk the Senator, though he was not sure if there was a man alive who could have done that. Finally, he had not run before Luthen got to him.

"I won't lie to you," Luthen had said.

"Thanks?" Han had replied.

Han had hoped that would at least earn him a chuckle, something to warm the old man up, but no luck. "There are those in the Rebellion leadership who think you need to die," Luthen had said.

"Die? Die! For what?" Han had replied.

"For knowing something no one should. There aren't 10 people, other than clone officers, who know the location of those children, or that they exist at all, and I only just added Senator Mothma to that list," Luthen had said.

"Ok this is nuts. You hired me to take her there. You're the reason I know the location!" Han had shouted. "Wait, were you…you were planning this from the beginning?"

"You're being foolish," Luthen had replied.

"If secrecy is such a big deal, and you let me know that there is a Senator involved in the Rebellion, you were always going to do this. Why? Why me?"

"Because you're useful. Or you could be. I have an eye for talent," Luthen had said.

"What? Talent? You want me to work for you?" Han had asked.

"You've already worked for me. Now I just want you to do it on a more permanent basis," Luthen had said.

"No," Han had said.

"Your choices are that you prove you are reliable to those who would see you dead if they knew what happened on Atollon, or you don't and they kill you. No other way to prove you are reliable than to join up and not betray," Luthen had said.

"So your pitch is join or die?" Han had asked.

"Yes," was Luthen's answer.

So now here Han Solo was, a Rebel. A joiner. A sucker. And the crew he had hooked up with was a bunch of zealots and dreamers, none of whom seemed to have any intention to make, or tolerance for making, a credit here and there. That's not to say that Han hadn't found a way to make a few side deals of his own, but when he won the Falcon off of Lando he had not thought he would be turned into a delivery service for nutcases. He had the best ship in the galaxy and here he was, waiting for some people he really didn't want on his ship.

Hearing Chewie's call from the back he knew the passenger had arrived. Before he even made it to the ramp he could hear Saw Gerrera complaining on his way up it, "I have my own ships. I object to all of this!"

"Sorry there sir, boss' orders," Hand said as he came around the corner.

"So Luthen thinks I can't be trusted with the location of this meeting?" Saw asked.

"I don't think you're supposed to use his name," Han said.

"Everyone here knows his name, why shouldn't I use it? And when did Luthen become someone who could give me orders? I was in this Rebellion before he was, now everything runs through him," Saw said.

"Above my pay grade," Han said while thinking to himself that he didn't have a pay grade as he didn't get paid.

"You sound like an Imperial," Saw said as he turned towards the cockpit.

"Ah…I think you will find the passenger area far more comfortable for this trip," Han said.

"I think I will feel much more comfortable with my eyes on what is going on," Saw said as he clomped down the hallway in his heavy boots. "Let's be away, pilot."

"Do you really think he is coming?" Obi-Wan asked Ahsoka, as they both sat watching some of the younger knights lead a training session. Reva, Kanan and the far more recently recovered Cal Kestis were attempting to instruct a group of older Padawans. This was one of the innovations of this new Jedi Order they were building; Padawans were no longer paired with Knights or Masters who would personally guide their education. The days when Jedi could travel the galaxy with an untrained youth were over. When the Jedi left the safety of their ships now no effort could be spared for education. And so training had become a group activity, though Yoda and Obi-Wan certainly played a greater role than did the other, younger Jedi. Those who were not out on a mission were expected, however, to do what they could, and with the conference coming all the Jedi had been recalled.

Ahsoka herself had recently returned from a mission to Hosnian Prime, where she had attempted to make contact with former members of the Hidden Path. But as had become all too common those who had once helped smuggle Force sensitive youth to safety had disappeared. An unintended consequence of Anakin's decimation of the Inquisitorius was that the job of hunting down potential Jedi or Sith had been handed to the ISB, and it turned out that the combination of their professionalism and their numbers more than made up for their lack of Force Sensitivity. The friends upon which the Jedi had once been able to rely had slowly gone silent on planet after planet. Ahsoka had spent most of the past two years trying to find those she could and get them to safety, and had been met mostly with disappointment.

The Jedi had been too slow to help their allies, but from that tragedy some hopeful developments had emerged. As part of supporting Ahsoka in her quest, and as a result of her interactions with rebel cells all over the galaxy, the many disparate rebellions had begun to coalesce. It had been through Ahsoka that Mon Mothma and her network had been brought into the fold, as well as that of Admiral Dodonna. And as the Jedi led rebel network grew it became more attractive for other rebels around the galaxy to join. Most of the rebel cells now looked to the new Jedi Order for guidance and support. The most notable exception was, of course, Anakin's ever growing fleet and army. He had most of the clones, an army of repurposed battle droids, a mobile shipyard, and he had easily five times the ships and ten times the firepower of the Jedi's rebel fleet.

"Yes I do," Ahsoka answered as she watched one of the older Padawans, an orphaned Lothal boy by the name of Bridger, try to keep his practice saber between himself and Kestis' blade. "But that isn't the real question is it?"

"What is the real question Ahsoka," Obi-Wan asked.

"Whether we want him to return," Ahsoka said while she tracked the now disarmed Bridger ducking and weaving his way around the attacks of the three Knights. He was far bolder without the practice saber than his fellow younglings, who were hanging back while he engaged their teachers, were with theirs.

"Why wouldn't we want that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Because then we have to face what he has become. Then we have to ask about the stories we have been told. We can't just keep telling ourselves that the Outer Rim has a tendency to make stories more fantastic and extreme than they really are. Maybe we have to finally admit that your friend, my mentor, has become something terrible," Ahsoka said.

"Becoming something terrible was his stated goal. Should we fear what we already know?" Obi-Wan said. The sparring session was just finishing up. Kanan, the most senior of the three Knights, bowed gently to Kestis and Sevander who left the room to make for their quarters, where a shower awaited each of them.

Kanan turned to address the younglings, "What was that?"

"What? I thought we did pretty well," Bridger said.

"No, Ezra, you charged in without help, and the rest of you hung back and played it safe rather than protect your fellow Jedi," Kanan said.

"It's not my fault they're scared," Ezra said, drawing some nasty looks from his fellow Padawans.

"This isn't about fault, it is about protecting each other. It is about having each other's backs," Kanan said.

"Where's the fun in that? There's no glory in sticking with the pack," Ezra replied

"Fighting isn't about glory. There is nothing glorious about violence. You fight only when you have to, and even then your goal is to preserve what life you can, especially yours and your fellow Jedi," Kanan said.

"He's getting good at this," Ahsoka said quietly so as not to interrupt the instruction.

"He has come a long way from when Anakin brought him to us," Obi-Wan said. "It has been impressive the way he has left the past with the Inquisitors behind him."

"Along with his name, correct? Why did he change it? Last time I was here he still called himself Caleb," Ahsoka asked.

"He said it was to honor a friend who tried to help him in the first few years after Order 66, but I think he really just wanted to put the past away, to move on without being weighed down by what was," Obi-Wan said.

"Is that what you think I need to do?" Ahsoka said. "Move on from my master?"

"I hope not. I hope that when Anakin comes back his years fighting alone will have taught him the futility of his approach. But I worry that we both are going to have to let something go, something that matters a great deal to us," Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka nodded slowly then said, "You never know, he may surprise us."

"He is good at that," Obi-Wan said.

Kanan finished up with Ezra, who made his way sullenly to the showers, and approached Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. Before Ezra left the room Obi-Wan said, "Oh young Bridger, when you are cleaned up please join me at the hangar bay. I have a job for you."

Ezra's shoulders slumped, but he nodded

"Masters," Kanan said with a bow as he came to a stop in front of them.

"I'm not a Master Kanan," Ahsoka said with a smile.

"I thought you were by the new rules," Kanan said.

Ahsoka looked at Obi-Wan with a raised eyebrow and he said, "Not quite. We wanted to preserve the connection to bringing up the next generation of Knights, so you still have to participate in the last stages of a Padawan's training."

"The stages I never received?" Ahsoka said wryly.

"Well…yes. But a little study with Master Yoda and you will be more than qualified to help some of our older Padawans through the last stage of the process," Obi-Wan said somewhat sheepishly.

"Don't worry Master Obi-Wan, I never really thought I would become a Master anyway," Ahsoka said.

"But the thing is, you are on the Council, and we very much want you to stay, and it would be better…," Obi-Wan said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble," Kanan said as Obi-Wan squirmed under Ahsoka's skeptical stare.

"Don't worry Kanan, we're just two old friends giving each other a hard time," Ahsoka said. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Well, yes. I heard that we are getting some guests today," Kanan said.

"Well we do have something of an important event coming up," Obi-Wan said sardonically, happy to be relieved of his embarrassment. "We are going to have many guests."

"I suppose I was asking about some particular guests…," Kanan said.

"You mean Captain Syndulla," Ahsoka said, somewhat impatiently.

"Yes," Kanan said while giving a nod with such anxious vigor that it made Obi-Wan feel old in the face of this young love.

"Don't worry Kanan," Ahsoka said as she stood up from the benches. "You will have plenty of time to spend with Hera. You might even convince her to let you join her crew."

"Then you will just have to convince the Council," Obi-Wan said with a grin.

"I thought…I thought Knights were encouraged to occasionally go out among the rebel cells and get some first hand experience of the struggle," Kanan said in a way that made it seem as though he had practiced his response to this very comment.

"Is that the kind of experience you are after?" Ahsoka asked playfully.

"I…uh…I don't…what I mean is…," Kanan spluttered.

"Oh stop torturing the boy Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said. "You may go greet the Ghost if you wish, though I imagine you will make a better impression on our guests after a shower."

After a quick bow and some blushing Kanan removed himself from the room at a brisk trot.

"Young love?" Ahsoka asked rhetorically.

"You know you aren't that much older than him. You are all young as far as I am concerned," Obi-Wan said as he got slowly to his feet.

"And you aren't half as old as you like to make out," Ahsoka said as she rose far more gracefully.

"Perhaps not. Anyway, we need to meet the Ghost as well," Obi-Wan said as he set out. "Captain Syndulla is bringing Padme and the twins to us."

"Another person knows the location of Attolon now?" Ahsoka asked as she followed.

"Padme thought it would matter less now that they are going to be spending so much time with the fleet," Obi-Wan said.

"What do you think Anakin will say about that?" Ahsoka asked.

"I have given up trying to guess what Anakin will say about things," Obi-Wan said wearily.

By the time they reached the hangar the Ghost had already landed and the ramp was lowering. Padme and the twins, now a little more than 15 years old, walked off the ship flanked by the Captain Syndulla, Garazeb Orrelios and the newest member of her crew, Sabine Wren, a young woman in Mandalorian armor whose background Hera had been quite cagey about.

"How did it go?" Ahsoka asked.

"Without a hitch," Hera answered. "The Imperial presence around Lothal has gotten lighter recently, and their patrols are lazy."

When Padme reached Ahsoka the two shared a warm embrace. Luke and Leia walked around them, looking for someone else they recognized. When Obi-Wan saw them he said, "Well hello there."

"Uncle Ben!" the twins said in unison, clearly relieved to find him there.

"Is this your ship?" Leia added.

"It's the ship I command anyway," Obi-Wan said.

"Can we see it?" Luke asked.

"Well any minute now your guide is going to arrive and he can show you everything there is to see," Obi-Wan said.

Right on cue the doors opened, but it was not Ezra Bridger who entered, but Kanan Jarrus, smoothing back his hair and wearing what was definitely not a Jedi robe. He had black pants that were possibly a bit too tight and a bright red shirt overlayed with a green vest. His boots were also not the functional ones to be worn into battle, but sleek, shiny and brown. They reached up nearly to his knees.

"When did you find time to buy that?" Ahsoka asked Kanan.

"That mission to Taris," Kanan said.

"Where did you find the money to buy that?" Obi-Wan asked.

Kanan gave Master Kenobi a worried, nervous look, and finally answered, "The mission to Nar Shaddaa."

"You gambled for it?" Ahsoka asked, shocked.

"Yes, but I didn't use the Force," Kanan assured her. "I mean, not much."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow and then sighed before saying, "You wouldn't be the first Jedi to do so. But why did you do it?"

"Obvious it is, Master Obi-Wan," said Yoda, who had shuffled into the hangar bay. "To impress Captain Syndulla, young Caleb Dume has done this."

"Ah…," Kanan began to say, unsure whether he wanted to deny the plain truth about why he had dolled himself up, or insist on his chosen name.

"Forgive me," Yoda said with a grin. "Remember you as a youngling I do, Kanan Jarus. Difficult it is, to let go of old things. Lucky am I that this is true."

"Master Yoda," Kanan said as he bowed to the venerable Master. As he straightened himself up he noticed Hera leaning on a crate, smirking at his discomfort.

"Oh, go on," Obi-Wan said with annoyance that was only partially in jest.

Kanan walked over to Hera, whose smirk did not subside. "You got in trouble with your boss, because you bought yourself some fancy clothes, so you could what? Impress me?" she asked.

"I want to show you a good time," Kanan said with a grin as he offered his arm to her.

"On your ship while I wait for this meeting to happen?" Hera asked. Her tone was skeptical, but that did not prevent her from taking Kanan's arm and walking with him.

"There is a lot of fun to be had here. We'll start at the canteen," Kanan said as they headed towards the door.

"So this date is going to consist of hallways and military rations?" Hera asked as they walked through the opening doors, nearly getting run over by Ezra Bridger who bounded into the Hangar Bay.

"Here I am!" Ezra shouted.

"Ah, young Bridger, surprising absolutely no one with your tardiness," Obi-Wan said.

"Sorry Master," the youth said sullenly. "What did you need me for?"

"That's the spirit," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. "I would like you to accompany Luke and Leia, give them a tour of the ship." Obi-Wan gestured to the twins, who up to that point had been just talking to each other while their mother spoke with Ahsoka. "And uh, take a different route than Kanan."

Upon seeing Leia, Ezra's manner changed dramatically. He walked over to the two of them with a ridiculously overdone strut and introduced himself by saying, "Hi there, I'm a Jedi."

Leia looked him up and down while a grin spread across Luke's face in anticipation of what was going to happen. "I think you mean you are a Padawan right?" she asked.

Ezra was for a moment taken aback by this knowledge of Jedi rank, and said, "Well yeah, but that's a kind of Jedi, ok?"

"It's kiddie Jedi. Little babies are Padawans right?" Leia asked.

"No, those are initiates. I passed through my initiate phase years ago, and I wasn't a baby at the time," Ezra said, crossing his arms and trying to stand up as straight as he could. He was still an inch or so shorter than Leia and he had to remind himself not to unconsciously stand on his tip toes in an attempt to match her.

"Ooooo, you must know so much about the Force," Leia said sarcastically. "Can you show me all about the Force? I have been dying to learn about the Force."

Ezra looked shocked at the direction the conversation had taken and that shock only increased when he noticed Luke heading towards the door to the hallway. As he was supposed to be their guide, Ezra started jogging towards Luke.

"Hey, you're supposed to be following me!" he shouted at Luke.

"Why? You don't look any older than us," Luke said as he passed out of the hangar.

"Because I am a Jedi!" Ezra said, pointing at his lightsaber, hanging from his belt.

"Oh…that," Luke said. Then quick as lightning he flicked his wrist and the lightsaber went flying from Ezra's belt into Luke's hands. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes! Now give it back!" Ezra yelled.

"Sure, sure, will do," Luke said before tossing the lightsaber in a wide arc over Ezra's head where it landed in Leia's hands.

"It looks way clumsier than father's," she said.

The three teenagers were still bickering, and Ezra was still trying to recover his weapon, when the doors closed.

"Suddenly I feel exhausted," Obi-Wan said.

"Try fifteen years of them," Padme said.

"I will leave such things to the experts," Obi-Wan said with a bow towards his old friend.

"Has he arrived yet?" Padme asked.

"No, but we expect him soon," Ahsoka answered.

"We thought you might know more than us," Obi-Wan said.

Padme paused for a moment before responding. "We don't communicate much when he is out on missions."

Obi-Wan, knowing that Rebel intelligence had made clear that Anakin's fleet was often on extended missions of many months in a row, smiled softly at Padme, remembering with sadness the bright, hopeful girl he had met on Naboo all those years ago.

"There are a few more guests that need to arrive to complete the council," Ahsoka said. And she was right. Over the next few hours Mon Mothma and Bail Organa arrived on the Tantive III. After them a sullen Han Solo delivered Saw Gerrera, who was impatient for the conference to begin, and rebuffed suggestions that he leave the bridge, where the delegates were gathering, to rest, insisting that he would not allow the two dozen or so other members of the council to discuss matters without him present.

It was less than an hour after the Millennium Falcon's arrival that the Restoration jumped out of hyperspace to join the small fleet. Expecting to see a shuttle depart from the Venator class ship, the assembled leaders of the Rebellion were instead surprised to be hailed by the familiar voice of a clone.

"This is the Restoration, flagship of the Rebellion, please arrange for the council members to join us here, so the conference can begin."

"This was not the agreement!" one of the Council members yelled. Many of the rest started to talk amongst themselves in an animated fashion.

"I will not put myself in the hands of that monster," insisted a representative from the neo-Separatist alliance.

"He is only a monster to the enemies of the Rebellion," Saw said without deigning to look at the man. "What are you?"

This began a general commotion that Mon Mothma and Bail Organa tried in vain to calm. Padme, who had been towards the back of the crowd, walked through the bickering delegates towards the communications console, where Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Rex waited for a decision from the members of the council. But Padme would not wait. She reached forward and pushed the button to send a message back.

"Inform Commander Skywalker that the council will meet on this ship, as was agreed. We await his arrival, but if he does not wish to participate on these terms we request that he lets us know, that we might not waste time waiting," she said calmly. The delegates all went silent when they heard her speaking, some out of respect, some out of astonishment that anyone would speak that way to a man of Skywalker's reputation.

There was no response to this message, at least not by the comm system. After around five minutes of silence went by they could see the doors to the hangar bay of the Restoration open. A single Nu-class shuttle flew towards them from the Restoration. In this first contest of wills Padme had won, and all the delegates had seen her overcome their acrimony to do it.

"As the rooms Obi-Wan has prepared for our meeting are near our hangar deck, I suggest we meet our final guests there," Padme said as she turned to face those who had come to unify under her leadership.

They made their way down, the delegates, the two Jedi and some of the senior officers of the Jedi fleet whose job it would be to see to the needs of their guests. When they arrived at the level of the hangar bay entrance, with Padme in the lead, they found the party from the Restoration already in the hallway. There were four clone guards walking in box formation, wearing the battered armor of the Grand Army of the Republic, only without the helmets. It was not lost on Obi-Wan that the hair of these clones was not nearly as gray as the clones who remained in the service of the Jedi, a fact that he noted for future investigation. In the center of the formation stood Anakin, with Admiral Thrawn on his left and a worried looking Luthen on his right. Luthen wore the same simple black garb he always did on rebel missions, with none of the affected Coruscanti manners that he had hidden behind for the first decade of the Empire's existence. Thrawn wore a pristine white uniform with only two insignia on it. One was the symbol of the Republic, so similar to the current Imperial crest of the Empire that several delegates were initially confused. The other was the symbol of the Chiss Ascendancy, which almost no one present recognized, a small allowance Skywalker allowed to his senior military commander.

Anakin was dressed all in black armor, with thick gloves and boots, and a long black cloak which linked to his breastplate near the shoulders. His skin was pale and his hair cut short, not long enough anywhere to take on the waviness to which Padme was so accustomed. His stare was cold and hard and it came to rest on each of the delegates in turn as they approached. Padme could see Luthen lean towards Anakin and whisper something in his ear which she could not make out, though she saw Anakin nod.

Padme's party came to a stop a few feet from the newly arrived guests and for a moment she and Anakin stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. It had been months since their last fight, and their messages since then had been short and to the point, conveying in as few words as possible only the information that absolutely had to be exchanged.

It was Obi-Wan who broke the silence, saying, "Welcome to the Qui-Gon Anakin."

"The Qui-Gon?" Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow. His voice was deeper and rougher than Obi-Wan, or even Padme, remembered.

"Well they let me name it. The other is called the Stewjon. it seemed rather self important to keep calling my ship by my own name, not to mention confusing for the crew," he replied with a smile.

Anakin nodded without any sign of mirth. His eyes flashed to his left towards one of the officers accompanying Padme and the other delegates. "Before we continue I feel as though I should share some information that has recently come into our possession," Anakin said as he lifted one arm up slowly. The officer he had been looking at grabbed at his throat and fell to his knees, drawing shouts of surprise and fear from the crowd. Before anyone could react the helpless man slid across the floor to Anakin, who grabbed him by the neck and lifted him from the ground. The man was trying to both pull Anakin's hand away from his neck but also kick out, which led him to take on the appearance of a fish flopping and wriggling wildly on a string.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mon Mothma yelled.

"You've been infiltrated!" Luthen yelled back. "When we accepted this invitation we started looking into your people, and this man is an Imperial spy!"

"But he is not the only one," Anakin said. "Tell us little spy, where are the other traitors?"

"I am…not…a traitor," the man gasped out.

"We shall see," Anakin said. He brought up his other hand to the man's face and held it there an inch from touching his skin. The man had a wild, fearful look in his eyes, but over the next few seconds that changed. His fear of what was going to happen to him turned into terror at what was happening to him, despite the fact that as far as anyone else could tell nothing was happening at all. Only Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, who had each brought their hands to their foreheads as though suddenly stricken with a great pain, had any inkling of what Anakin was doing to the man. But the Jedi could feel as the layers of the man's mind were peeled away, like skin off of some rotten fruit, large chunks of it ripping apart with each tug.

The mental violation was accompanied by a few bouts of screaming by the purported spy, as his head jerked violently back and forth like he was trying to run away from something which kept moving from one side of him to another. Eventually the man went still and silent, and Anakin dropped him to the floor where he crumpled awkwardly, his arms and legs bent at odd angles that would have been painful if the man could feel anything at all.

"There is a human male in main engineering, he is an accomplice. He has the comms device in his locker. His name is Greirson. Find him Luthen," Anakin said softly, seemingly unconcerned by the horrifying sight at his feet.

Luthen nodded and motioned for the clone troopers to accompany him. Before they had taken two steps Rex stepped forward and said, "If one of our crew is going to be detained, we will be handling it, not you!"

"You would waste time apprehending a spy who might, even now, be transmitting information about this meeting to our enemy?" Thrawn asked. "For what? Pride?"

"If the man is guilty we will determine that, and we will do it without…," Rex paused while he looked at the officer Anakin had just dropped, "any need for your methods."

"Very good Captain," Anakin said. "This is your ship and these are your men. Please do hurry though. It would be best to take him before he hears of what has happened."

Rex nodded and turned on his heel. He motioned to several of his own men to join him and they broke into a jog towards the elevator.

"What was that?" Obi-Wan asked.

"What was what?" Anakin said as he turned to face his old master.

"What you just did to that man?" Obi-Wan said.

"It is a topic for a different time, and a different audience," Anakin answered with a tone that left no doubt about whether he considered the issue open for debate.

"We have saved you from a major security breach," Luthen said. "Not a very auspicious beginning to our arrangement if you hold that against us. As I have made clear more than once you all need…,"

"It would be quite a blow against the prospects for our alliance if we were to ignore that we do not all endorse the same methods," Padme said. "This meeting is for discussion and deliberation, not instruction from one faction to the others."

Luthen seemed about to reply when Anakin said, "As you say. Shall we begin the meeting?"

Padme looked at her husband for a moment before answering. Whether she meant to reach out to him, or recoil from his cruelty, no one could tell.

Jyn Erso was lying on her back, throwing a ball up and down in her room, or what could more accurately be called her cell. Every few months their living situation changed, with Saw's paranoia never allowing them to settle down into a permanent base. This time he had found some god awful cave system for them to hide in and so she was left sleeping on the rocky floor with a thin bed roll the only barrier between her back and the sharp stones.

Saw had left the day before for some big meeting with other Rebel leaders and had been very clear that she was to stay in her room the entire time. He had even brought her extra rations. He was worried, she knew, that some of the others were figuring out who she was, or more accurately, who her father was.

Or who her father had been, she supposed. It had been years without any word about her father's location, and Jyn had left hope for any reunion behind her long ago. In the moments before the attack on their compound had begun she had been wondering whether she would be able to get by Tubes, who was on guard duty that night, and go outside for a walk. If Saw found out she would get a real tongue lashing for it, but she was already bored out of her mind and Saw was not due back for two days.

She threw the ball up once more and when it almost reached the ceiling she heard the blaster fire begin. Upon hearing it Jyn shot up off of her bedroll and made for the hallway. Once there she listened to the increasingly frequent blaster shots and realized they were coming from the cave entrance. She thought for a moment about doing what Saw had told her to do in this situation, which was escape out of the exit he had shown to her and Tubes but not the others, but she could hear the screams and yells from Saw's men coming from above her. She could not just leave them, she thought to herself, no matter the fact that Saw thought they might be dangerous to her. Saw thought everyone was potentially dangerous.

So Jyn went towards the sound of the fighting. In a few minutes she was at the cave entrance and could see the Stormtroopers firing from the opposite ridge. They were setting up E-Webs, an activity that had absorbed most of the attention of Saw's partisans, who were focusing all the fire they could muster from behind cover to disrupt the assembly process. Jyn ducked behind a rock and peeked out a few times to get a better sense of the battle. As she pulled her own blaster out she noticed movement in the dark valley between the enemy's ridge and their cave entrance.

"The E-Web's are a distraction! They are below us!" she yelled.

Tubes, having heard her, immediately threw two grenades down into the valley. When they went off the explosions killed several Stormtroopers but illuminated dozens more who had been hidden in the foggy gloom.

"Tubes!" she shouted. When he did not hear her over the blaster fire she took a deep breath and then dove from behind her cover to get to his, and was nearly hit by two blaster bolts which just barely missed the top of her head. It took her a second to realize, after she got behind the same stone that Tubes was using for cover that the blaster fire had stopped.

"What are they doing?" she asked. As Tubes could understand galactic basic, he responded, but as she could not understand Tognath she did not know what his answer was.

"Doesn't matter," she said to herself before turning to Tubes and yelling, "We need to lead them out the back way!"

Tubes shook his head and focused on reloading his rifle. Jyn growled in frustration and tried to get the attention of one of the other men when she saw him pop up from behind cover and start firing. Then she saw two stunning rounds shoot past him before a third hit him.

"Why are they trying to stun us?" Jyn asked no one in particular.

Tubes chortled but did not answer as he started firing himself. The firefight carried on that way, the rebels firing live rounds and the Imperials just trying to stun them in response, for several minutes. But eventually the Imperial numbers won out. The party traversing the valley was able to force their way up to the mouth of the cave. Jyn chose that moment to run for it. The stunning round missed her, but she was running so hard she bounced off the wall when she entered the passage up which she had come early that evening. The force of the impact knocked her off her feet and as she scrabbled back up she saw a black armored Dark Trooper, like the ones who had killed her mother, shoot a stunned Tubes in the head with the blaster very much not set to stun.

Jyn could not help the scream that erupted from her, but it likely made no difference. The Dark Troopers knew she was there. She managed to dodge one shot as she turned the corner into a long narrow passageway, but had nowhere to go to avoid the second, a stunning bolt that hit her in the back and knocked her out.

She regained awareness hours later, her hands and feet bound. She looked around and saw that she was inside a ship, one she guessed was Imperial from the smooth black surfaces. She was in a small compartment with four plain walls. When she tried to stand up she found that the restraints prevented her from doing so. She let loose a frustrated yell as she strained against the metal binds, and in so doing attracted the attention of her host.

The door to the compartment slid open and a man whose face had haunted her dreams since she was a small child appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, you're awake. Good. I am very glad to make your acquaintance Jyn. You might not remember me, but I am an old friend of your parents" Grand Moff Krennic said.