General Hera Syndulla popped open the first of the ration packs as she sat down at one of the long thin metal tables in the almost empty common area. Besides her three companions there was only one other person. A bleary-eyed soldier who seemed about ready to fall asleep face-first into his plate. For seven years now, they'd known a sort of precarious peace. And despite the strength the New Republic projected, Hera was all too familiar with the ways meager resources were stretched to the limits with little visibility. The soldier was just another example.

"When do you ship out?" She asked, breaking the silence as she looked across the table to where a Lasat was eating cookies by the handful. He raised his hand while he chewed and then answered.

"I've got a few more rotations on medical leave," he tapped his leg though the action was partially obscured by the table. Still, she'd been in the hangar when he'd arrived, barely able to walk due to the injury.

"Where will you be going Uncle Zeb?" Another of Hera's companions, her son, asked looking up from his own plate of food.

"Back to the Outer Rim to train more recruits," he said reaching a clawed hand across the table to ruffle the boy's hair. Its shade of deep green and his ears which faded from tan to green at the pointed tips were all that marked his twi'lek blood.

"Maybe one day I'll get to join you, as a recruit," he said, his deep blue eyes hopeful. Zeb glanced at Hera who shook her head slightly.

"What about your Jedi-training?" he asked though his voice trailed off at the end when he saw both her and her son's expressions.

"She says I am still too young," Jacen said, his voice losing some of its enthusiasm. Hera locked eyes with her son.

"That wasn't the only reason I gave," she admonished, and the boy shrugged sheepishly before adding,

"And Master Skywalker's temple is still being built," it was Hera's turn to ruffle her son's hair.

"When you're older, and the temple is built and he's accepting students, then we'll talk about it." she said, though the promise was more to herself than to him.

"Master Skywalker is already accepting students," his response caught her off guard and she asked,

"How do you know that?" But Jacen clamped his mouth shut, his gaze flitting towards Zeb for help. The lasat chuckled, it was a deep rumbling sound and some of the tension faded from the room.

"Chopper probably told him, the little eavesdropper can't keep a secret," he said and the small white and orange astromech that had been peacefully standing at the end of the table chirped angrily at Zeb, rolling towards him. His two metal-hand-like appendages balled into fists. Before Chopper could reach him though, the speakers crackled and a static voice interrupted them,

"General Hera Syndulla is requested in meeting room 4," Hera rose, bidding the lasat farewell. She pulled up her copy of Home One's layout and located the meeting room before departing from the common area. It was on the upper levels of the ship, not far from the control room. To her initial surprise, Jacen and Chopper tagged along and when the door shut with a hiss behind them, she halted. Sighing, she placed a hand on his shoulder so that he stopped walking and looked up at her. She could see it, the longing for excitement she too had once felt coursing through her veins.

"When I was your age, I had no choice but to help my people fight, and for a time it was all I wanted to do. But this peace we have now is something that I wouldn't ever trade away for all the adventures in the galaxy," she paused, watching to see if he followed and he nodded for her to continue, "there will be a time when you get to choose your own future, but you need to understand that the paths of a jedi or a soldier aren't ones that you can turn away from easily," he lowered his gaze, and she gently tweaked his nose bringing his startled gaze back to hers, "so, you need to use some wisdom," she playfully tapped the side of his head, "and discernment, if you want to go down them," she watched him for his response. After a few seconds he nodded slowly, and she hugged him tightly before sending him on his way.

"He's gotten tall," a voice said behind her, catching her off guard. Hera turned to face the togruta who watched her with crossed arms.

"It's been a while since you've seen him," Hera said and Ahsoka motioned for them to walk together. So, this was why she'd been summoned to the meeting room.

"My apologies," Ahsoka began but Hera waved her off and smiled.

"It's good to have you back, though I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances. I'm afraid we've lost your prisoner," her companion nodded though she was most certainly already aware. It was why she'd been summoned back to Home One, "I prepared a briefing to catch you up, though I'm assuming you already have some of the details," again the togruta nodded though she seemed more distant than usual, "is Huyang with you?"

"Yes, I sent him ahead to the meeting room. I came down to find you and sensed..." Ahsoka paused as if carefully weighing her words, "Jacen... he's strong with the force," the words were spoken hesitantly as if she wasn't sure how Hera would respond.

"He is, though I can't say I'm surprised," she acknowledged.

"And you've been training him?" it was more a statement than a question.

"Only how to meditate, Kanan taught me, and he told me once that it was how Jedi strengthened their bond with the force," she paused uncertain, "but he's far surpassed all that I know. He's going to need a teacher."

"I'm certain Master Skywalker would take him on as padawan, if the boy's ready." Ahsoka offered. Hera smiled ruefully.

"I'm the one who's not ready, becoming a Jedi is what he's been dreaming of since I first told him about it," she said and was surprised to feel Ahsoka's hand on her shoulder, "I know in the days of the Republic, it would've been quite different. He would already be a youngling if not a padawan, but..."

"The Jedi Order of the Republic is gone, if you don't think now is the right time for him to start learning then,"

"It's not that. You told me once that the bond between a master and their padawan is powerful, that a part of the master remains even after padawan has left their side," Hera said and Ahsoka nodded though a certain unease seemed to flit across her features for a moment. Still Hera didn't need to finish her phrase as Ahsoka knew where the twi'lek was taking this reasoning.

"You still have hope that Ezra will return," she said quietly, and Hera nodded.

"I know that it wouldn't be the same, but he spent several years learning from Kanan and was his padawan."

"You don't need to explain yourself; I understand. Though I can assure you that if you change your mind there will always be a place for Jacen in the new order." Hera nodded and they walked in silence for a few steps until Hera added,

"If Ezra doesn't return, and you change your mind about force-sensitive padawans," Hera began as they entered meeting room 4, "Jacen would be lucky to have you as his master," Ahsoka smiled kindly at her but said nothing.

After greeting Huyang who was awaiting their arrival, Hera went to the center of the chamber where a small holotable was set up. She opened and scrolled through the files as she looked for the surveillance footage, they'd recovered from the prisoner transport. When she found it, she projected the frozen image of the two intruders when Captain Hayle had first spoken with them, "Two attackers, they took out an entire security detail and scuttled one of our new starships. Any idea who they are?" Ahsoka shook her head, and so Hera played footage from their initial attack, "Are they Jedi? Sith? They appear to be force-sensitives."

"These days, there are few who can wield the Force," Ahsoka said, arms crossed as she tapped her chin with one of her fingers as she considered the pair.

"Perhaps one of them was once a Jedi?" Huyang offered as he paused the footage and zoomed in on one of the figures, a young woman whose head was covered by the hood of the cloak she wore. Hera couldn't see what the droid was referring to, but Ahsoka did. For she leaned closer to the hologram and pointed at the small braid that could barely be seen hanging down over the intruder's right shoulder. Hera looked between the two confused and Huyang kindly explained,

"It appears to be a padawan braid, though we'd need more detailed footage to confirm it,"

"A master and a padawan...," Ahsoka whispered and then moved the zoomed-in footage to the other figure's lightsaber, "Huyang, make a copy of this recording and run a match on their lightsabers," she said, and the droid moved to do as she asked.

"What's their connection to Morgan Elsbeth?" Hera said, now more confused than before.

"Mercenaries perhaps, though ones of this caliber would have cost a fortune,"

"Well, that investment paid off. They all vanished without a trace," Hera said, shutting down the hologram. Ahsoka reached into her cloak and pulled out a small circular metal object.

"The day isn't a total loss," she said with a slight smile on her face.

"A star map?" Hera asked and the togruta nodded.

"Not just any star map. This one holds the secret Elsbeth is after,"

"And that is,"

"The location of the last missing Imperial Grand Admiral. Thrawn," Ahsoka said, a glint of excitement alight in her eyes. But Hera's stomach sank, distant yet painful memories resurfacing unaffected by the years.

"That's impossible. He died. He was killed during the Battle of Lothal," she said quietly, her voice tight, throat dry.

"His death was never confirmed," Ahsoka began but her voice softened as she looked at Hera, "he vanished, along with Ezra,"

"So, this is the rumor you've been hunting down," Hera said, straightening as she regained her composure.

"I started hearing whispers of his return not long after the Battle of Jakku," Ahsoka began, "they eventually led me to Elsbeth. From what I've learned, she was a great ally of Thrawn during the Imperial rule, but her importance was greatly diminished after he disappeared. Still, she knows something about his whereabouts, a location perhaps held in this map." Ahsoka tossed the map to Hera, and she studied the strange metal object. A strange ember of hope reignited within her.

"If Thrawn survived, does that mean Ezra..." Hera didn't finish her sentence, but Ahsoka nodded.

"I hope so. Nothing is certain except for our enemy's belief that they know where to look."

"So then," Hera tossed the map at Huyang who barely caught it as he was still messing with the holotable, "let's look at this map,"

"We cannot show you the map. The device is locked and the key to activating it has eluded me," the droid said, and Hera rested her hands on her hips.

"That's a problem," she said.

"One I'm sure we'll find a way to solve," Ahsoka said, her tone confident. Before they could discuss it further, a mon calamari first officer opened the door to the meeting room and said,

"General, the Defense Council is requesting an immediate update on the prisoner transport incident,"

"Tell them I'll be right there," Hera said, and the officer bowed his head respectfully at the trio and retreated from the room. Hera turned back to Ahsoka, "You know who could help you with this?"

"I do," Ahsoka said as Huyang handed her the map back.

"Then you should ask her,"

"I'm not sure she'll want to help," Hera stared at Ahsoka in disbelief.

"If it is for a chance at finding Ezra, trust me, she won't hesitate," she said and headed for the door, bidding them farewell in case they didn't see each other before the Jedi's departure, "keep me in the loop," she added before the door hissed shut behind her.

Hera watched the five hologram council members as they considered her report.

"Tell us General, as it seems we weren't made aware, what is the importance of Morgan Elsbeth? The details in Ahsoka Tano's prisoner report are brief," Mon Mothma asked.

"Imperial ally, I believe, is the only reason given for the prisoner's arrest as well as her history," Senator Xiono added. Hera briefly relayed what Ahsoka had told her in the meeting room when she'd finished, again Senator Xiono spoke, "if this map is a potential threat, perhaps we should just destroy it," Hera's stomach sank but Mon Mothma shook her head,

"No, the Jedi is right, we should try and unlock it to see where it leads. If it is destroyed, our enemies might merely search for a new way to recover Thrawn. Our best course of action would be to reach him first. Do you still have the map with you?" she asked Hera who shook her head.

"No, Ahsoka has gone to Lothal to enlist the aid of a mutual friend in opening it," Hera explained.

"Do you not think it would be safer to keep the map with the fleet? Our enemy might attempt to retrieve it as they retrieved Elsbeth." Xiono said and Hera straightened up.

"I believe the safest location for the map is with Ahsoka Tano," Hera said, and Mon Mothma nodded.

"I agree, but keep us updated on any new developments, General," she said and after a brief round of farewells the Defense Council vanished. Hera relaxed, the day had been long, and her mind was still trying to wrap itself around the idea that the years she'd spent searching for Ezra might not have been in vain. They hadn't had any leads on where to look before, but now, if Ahsoka succeeded in opening the map they might know the precise location for where to begin the search.