Dantooine

As he promised, Mayday was behind Hela in the next transport; he caught sight of the base as they approached, it looked temporary, built in a dense forest on the far side of Dantooine away from Dantoo Town, which they had flown over to get here. Others had taken a separate route; it didn't pay to draw too much attention to themselves.

As they descended, the details became clearer; it looked like a farm with prefabricated living modules, like many others, although he couldn't see any obvious defences. He needed to address that; they brought generators and mobile force fields with them

"Looks good, so far."

"You need to take up a holding pattern." Donca's breathless voice came over the com, "While they do the final checks. They're taking no chances, especially after what happened."

"Copy that." He replied, adjusting the controls.

They would be supplementing the base's defences with their own equipment; weapons stolen from decommissioned Republic outposts and the odd smuggler one. They also had a couple of Deflector shields acquired from an Imperial garrison. The mission Mayday was on when the TIE fighter attacked, they brought them back, together with the portable generators needed to power them.

It was too late for their own base.

The Dantooine base was vast; it could house squadrons of small starfighters, dozens of droid-charging ports, advanced communications technology, and dozens of bunks for several hundred troops and this was just the beginning.

.

Hela brought them in smoothly to land in the space advised by the base's ATC. She and Donca, plus a few others were on this ship. Bil, Finor, Mayday and others were all split amongst other transports, just in case.

After waiting for the docking clamps to engage, she switched off the engine and did her landing checks.

"Good journey." Donca congratulated her, "I thought we might be a bit heavy coming down but you were right, this old girl can shift a lot. Now let's see the Base Commander."

"Commander?"

"We're getting more organised." Replied Donca.

Hela looked through the cockpit window, the pilots and soldiers coming to meet them were all dressed the same.

She dropped the ramp and helped Donca up from her seat; she would have to go and do the meet and greet. Donca grabbed her arm, swaying slightly.

"I'll walk with you." Offered Hela, "you can rest your hand on my shoulder. It won't look so obvious then."

Donca smiled and leaned on Hela as they walked down the ramp to the waiting rebels. Hela tried to make it appear as if she was walking along side until Fin finally came up behind them.

"Thanks Hela. I'm here now."

Donca squeezed her arm.

"No problem." Confirmed Hela and she turned to look for engineering, or whatever they called the repair bay, wandering down the unfamiliar corridor.

"Ms Nim?" A voice she didn't recognise called out for her, rather formally she thought. Most people called her Hela. She turned to the voice.

It was an older human male, not someone she recognised but his demeanour reminded her of RI or ISB. There was something about him, the way he looked at her made her feel uneasy.

"I need a word with you. This way please." He gestured to a door. There were guards either side of her; one was so tall and huge he dwarfed even Tycho and Mayday. It left her nowhere to go.

"Can I just—"

"No. In here."

Uncertain what was happening she limped in, it had been a long tiring day.

"Sit!"

There were only two seats, either side of a table. It wasn't set up for comfort.

He indicated the far chair, waited for her to sit then took his opposite.

He held out his hand, "Com unit!"

Hela unclipped it and handed it over. The man passed it to one of the guards. "Check it."

He turned back to her.

"So— Hela Nim. Famous singer before the Empire and now a mechanic."

He stared at her, his face expressionless.

She wasn't sure if he was expecting a reply or not, so she stayed silent

"Let's go through your life."

He obviously wasn't.

.

Mayday found his allocated quarters; he actually had a room. His team were not so lucky; they had been allocated bunks in a squad room. That would take some getting used to for a few of them; they had been used to their privacy and so was he now.

He checked his com. Nothing from Hela. She was probably busy setting up everything with Bil, including the portable shields they had liberated. She would be busy for a while. He was proud they had managed to find those.

They could be deployed on any surface and would be ideal here; they just had to work out how to set them up. The shield was projected by a small generator and formed a dome that could protect a specific area. They needed to set up all the ones they had brought with them. They wouldn't stop a Star Destroyer but it was something.

He went to look for Donca; she was meeting with the Base Commander to do a handover.

.

Detention Room

Hela wondered if everyone had to go through this but she hadn't seen anyone else pulled aside.

She glanced at the guard who stood next to the door. He would not be able to walk through without twisting or bending. He was so big; he had an odd look on his face, as if he was enjoying this.

"Born on Naboo. You lost your family at the Battle of Naboo."

She nodded.

"That must have been difficult for you?"

"It was."

"You spent time in the Internment Camps?"

She nodded.

"Sheeve Palpatine took an interest in you. Some said it was an unhealthy interest."

She knew there had been rumours at the time; it appeared he liked young people around him, "It was never like that. He was more like an Uncle."

"You kept in contact with Senator Amidala, certain Jedi and even closer contact with the then Chancellor Palpatine."

"Yes."

Everything he said was true.

"You attended the Naboo School of Music and from there moved to Coruscant to continue your training."

"If you know all this, why am I here?"

"All in good time."

Hela was worried. Why had she been singled out?

He pushed a bottle of water towards her.

"You became famous there, spending a lot of time with 'Uncle Sheeve' the now Emperor. He regularly attended your concerts at the Galaxies Opera House."

"A lot of people did. He was my—"

He put up a hand to stop her talking.

"Mentor?"

"Yes. He helped other people too." She searched for a name, "Anakin Skywalker for one."

"Who has since disappeared and is presumed dead."

"You were also close, very close to another Jedi— Skoll."

"How?"

She thought they had been discreet.

"Everyone was under surveillance then."

"Then you took a Clone lover and became an advocate for Clone Rights. All whilst still being close to the Chancellor."

She couldn't deny any of it; it was all true.

"One of these self same clones who became Palpatine's secret weapon against the Jedi. Who turned on and killed their commanding officers."

"Why are you doing this?"she asked.

"Just painting a picture."

"A picture of what."

He smiled, it wasn't pretty and continued.

"Then after the Purge you left Coruscant. Not immediately. Not even after a couple of months but much, much later."

She didn't answer and chewed her bottom lip. This sounded bad.

"Why did you wait so long to leave?"

"I— we. It's difficult to explain."

"Try."

He sat back, arms folded.

"We had to plan."

"You and the ISB agent?"

"Zur was my friend."

"He also worked for the Government, both Republic and Empire."

"He didn't agree with the Empire."

"That's easy to say now."

She opened her mouth to say it was true, that she wasn't lying but that sounded feeble. Anyone could say that even if they were lying.

She wondered again if anyone else was having their background gone through. She knew everyone was here for different reasons. Not everyone was immediately with the rebels; some had lived under the Empire just like she had.

"So you managed to escape the Empire and get yourself declared dead. Despite being a close associate of Palpatine and under surveillance."

Hela shrugged.

"I find that —impressive. Who helped you?"

"Zur."

"Anyone else?"

"No!'

He leaned across the table, inches from her face; she could see the open pores of his skin. She swallowed.

"I don't believe you."

He leaned back. A satisfied expression on his face. He was enjoying this, "But now your life gets a little vague. Where did you go after Coruscant? If it wasn't Naboo."

That told her she had only been under surveillance on Coruscant, under the Empire and they didn't know about the clone rebels.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does. If you're who I think you are, you're dangerous, as are your associates. So where did you go and who helped you?"

"Dangerous?" She shook her head.

"Mandalore? Tatooine?"

He was clutching at straws; they had been nowhere near those planets.

"It doesn't matter. We can probably get it from your com unit."

You'll be lucky, she thought, that one was given to her after Vos. She tried not to say anything. Vos always said once they started talking he had won. She clamped her mouth shut and stared over his shoulder.

"Someone did help you. Someone you want to protect, so they must mean something to you."

She avoided his gaze; this felt more and more like an interrogation.

"Commander Mayday?"

"No!" Her reply was vehement, Mayday didn't need to be brought into this, whatever it was.

"No. It wasn't him. We know where he was."

He looked to the ceiling.

"Which planets did you go to and who helped you on them?"

Picking up the bottle, Hela carefully unscrewed the top; holding it tight to stop her hand from shaking. She took a sip, then shook her head.

"Let's move on then. You surfaced with Dryden Vos." He pulled her arm forward, twisting it to show the brand, "and Crimson Dawn."

"That wasn't by choice."

.

There was a new man in charge, Antoc Merrick in overall command of the pilots on Dantooine.

Donca checked his background, Merrick sounded like he was her kind of man, not in a Romantic way. It was Fin for her or no one.

Despite that, she had to admit that with his light skin, steel-blue eyes and blondish-brown hair, and wearing a light blue flight suit, carrying a white, gray, blue and yellow helmet, he cut a dashing figure.

During peacetime, he would have broken any number of hearts. Probably kept a trail of them.

She looked at the information on her datapad.

"I didn't know I had to pass your inspection." He looked faintly amused but was polite nonetheless.

"It depends if you want a team that works with you or against you. The majority of the people on this base were mine, before they came here."

"So I understand. Are they rebels or your personal army?"

"Rebels first and foremost, although they don't like being treated as cannon fodder and neither do I."

She was laying it out ready for him.

"Not my style."

"Nor mine."

He watched as she struggled for breath despite a breathing tube, although rudimentary; he suspected she didn't like using it.

"I'm not one for speeches."

"Neither am I. Words can be empty vessels."

"True."

He refused to risk lives needlessly, some said it his only fault; he did not think so.

She watched him across from the table.

"Do I meet your exacting standards?" He asked, seemingly not afraid of the answer.

"That is yet to be decided."

He smiled; no she decided he wasn't afraid of the answer. He would do what needed to be done but in his own way.

"So why did you join the Rebellion? Who did you lose?"

"A whole planet."

Donca raised an eyebrow.

"Virujansi."

"What happened?"

"I served as the flight leader of the planetary defense forces, the Virujansi Rarified Air Cavalry. I know —it's a mouthful."

He smiled.

Donca smiled back.

"I had dreamt of doing that all my life. It was all I ever wanted to do."

"Go on."

"You're good at this aren't you. Extracting information in a soft, painless way."

"It's the best way I know."

"There are others and I appreciate why you're doing it, especially after—"

"It's a knack I have."

"A useful one. It's no secret what happened on my planet. An Imperial Governor displaced the ruling Virujansi council. Local military forces loyal to the old regime were disbanded, and the pilots of the Air Cavalry were given invitations to join the Imperial Navy."

"If you loved flying so much why didn't you take up their offer."

"It didn't appeal to me."

"Why not? It was flying. Doing what you love."

"It was hollow. The Empire's TIE forces are….. unimaginative at best."

"But effective!"

"I'm sorry. That was insensitive. I know you lost people to a TIE fighter attack."

"Unimaginative?"

"As a pilot the Rebel Alliance's starfighter squadrons have greater unit coherence and piloting ability. So, I opted for early retirement, left what remained of my homeworld and ended up here."

"That's a different story to most."

"I think we all have our own stories and I would love to hear yours one day. And your Commander's."

"That's his to tell."

"He's a clone?"

"He's a man and an exceptionally competent commander. Reduced our losses as soon as he came to us."

"You recruited him."

"Yes. We needed someone with his expertise to train us, get us into shape for the fight."

"I'd like to talk to him later."

"I'm sure he'd like to talk to you."

"That's alright. I'll find him."

"What about your second?"

"Garven Dreis?"

"Who else?"

'He's a good man. Been with me for years. There were a lot of good men on Virujansi."

"There are still good men out in the Galaxy, we've proved that."

"With your Commander?"

"Yes. He's a good man."

"I've never met a clone. Garven said they were exceptional pilots. He admired them."

"I don't know about the pilots but Mayday. He's saved lives for us and changed our results for the better."

A knock at the door, disturbed them.

.

Detention Room

"And the clone with the Cloud Riders rescued you."

"You know that. You've just told me."

"Let's move on."

She wondered what he was going to ask next.

"The TIE fighter attack. How did you know about it?"

"I didn't. I heard the engine. Recognised the sound from when I was with Vos."

"Heard it? Before anyone else?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I just did. I can also hear if an engine is working to full capacity or not."

"I doubt that." He practically rolled his eyes or would have if they hadn't been so small and slanted. A bit like a Wamprat. It was why she didn't trust him, as soon as she saw him. Nola said to never trust anyone whose eyes looked like an animal.

She was right.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"You're wrong. So wrong."

"I think you gave the Empire the coordinates of the base and you knew they were coming. Shouting a warning gives you an alibi of sorts. Makes people grateful to you. Think you could not be responsible. It also gave you time to take cover but what I don't know is how you managed to set up the ordnance to explode, unless you had help."

"No. That's not right." She had to say something now.

"But it backfired. You couldn't get away fast enough. Or you didn't have their full plan."

She sat shaking her head.

"You had someone called Pol bring your bag to you. Is he your accomplice, unwitting or not?"

She couldn't let him be accused, that wasn't fair, not for just helping her.

"No. He isn't. He just fetched me some clothes."

"So you have an accomplice?"

"No! This is ridiculous."

"We will find out."

"What?"

"Everything. It all adds up."

"What does?" Despite her fears she couldn't help but ask.

"Your closeness to the Emperor for years, your closeness to the clones and an ISB agent. The gap after you left Coruscant. You disappeared being trained. And how does anyone hear a TIE fighter before anyone else could?"

"Adds up to what?"

"You're a sleeper, an Imperial mole."

.

"Enter!" Merrick looked to Donca for her reaction, he was effectively taking over her command. She had admitted she was ill, incurable and they —couldn't just abandon her. He argued it made sense to keep her, to smooth over any problems and they had some medics here that may be able to help her further. Ease the pain. This wasn't the Empire. Their people were not disposable, despite the way some Commanders acted.

The door pushed open and a tall man, with tanned skin and dressed in a mismatched combat uniform walked in. It was worn but clean. Merrick saw from his demeanour that he was a trained soldier, holding himself like a veteran, ram rod back, although he was a muscular man, he looked older than he had expected.

"Yes?"

"Mayday sir."

"Ah. Good to meet you." He held out his hand.

Mayday looked at it, debating whether he should take up the offer to shake it. He relented and did. The man's hand shake was dry and firm. A couple of strong shakes. No nonsense.

What happened next would decide whether he could work with him or not.

"We have misplaced one of our mechanics. No one has seen her since just after she landed."

Donca turned to him; she watched how he had reacted to Merrick's hand.

"Hela?"

"Yes."

"She was walking down the corridor after she left me."

"This one?" asked Merrick.

"Yes. Just along there. Where does it lead to?"

"It's designated the Detention area."

Out of the corner of her eye Donca saw Mayday tense, "Detention?" She asked.

"We needed somewhere secure, just in case. There's only Cobban and his two guards in there at the moment."

"Who's that?"

"Rebel Intelligence. He reports to Davits Draven. He vets the new recruits."

"Everyone?"

"No. Only those deemed a risk based on their background." Merrick seemed ill at ease with his own explanation.

"Hela is not a risk."

"I didn't say she was but we can check if she's there. He will only be asking her questions. That's his remit. Questions and report back."

Mayday opened the door and held it open.

Merrick looked at the clone; this was important to him. He'd heard rumours, as soon as the Barton IV contingent arrived. Mayday, the clone and Hela Nim, an unusual couple.

"Okay." He acquiesced.

They walked to the Detention area. He hadn't been happy with it but was persuaded that they needed somewhere secure. He hadn't expected it to be used by his own people. He pushed open the door to see Cobban and what passed as his assistant standing watching Hela Nim. Merrick recognised her despite the years since she last performed.

She was behind a force shield.

'"Mayday!" He heard Donca's voice.

.