Fandom Star Wars: Demesne [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

Skye had a point. Adlai kept forgetting how he was dressed. “And once we have it, Chopper can find out what we need,” Sabine said. He could hack into the droid and from there, they’d be good to go.

Adlai thought that was all saying a bit too much in front of a criminal, but he nodded. “All right. So long as this leads us to finding Kanan, I’ll find a way for you to get the rest of the promised credits, Vizago,” he said, once the chip had been processed to send over money, and erase the evidence of where it came from.

Good thing he already had plenty of shell accounts.

He offered it back to Vizago, who took it, grudgingly, “Yeah, yeah,” he really did have his doubts, since it was unlikely he’d be seeing any of them again. “Just don’t let the Empire know it was me, okay?”

~***~

‘An obsession.’ Eli would have readily agreed with that, but he nodded along to Cora’s more tactful way of saying it.

He listened about the Clone Wars, though. He hardly expected Cora to have been old enough to participate, but he did wonder about her family, and her siblings. It had apparently been a bad time in her childhood, where for Eli, it was just talk on the wind. It didn’t impact too much of his lifestyle, that he knew of.

Maybe his parents hid that well.

“Did you lose anyone in it?” Eli asked, a touch tentative. It wasn’t a happy thought, he knew, and he probably should have let the Jedi thing go, but he did have a feeling this was not going to be the last they heard, or deal with, Jedi.

A little more information couldn’t hurt.

~***~

The Grand Moff had at least taken a seat by the time Thrawn picked up. The alien could hide much, but Tarkin could tell that he was weary. He wasn’t sure right then if that was a good thing, or just another thing to be angry about, given what Thrawn had done.

“I’ve yet to hear any report on your investigation into Eira Nevan, Grand Admiral,” Tarkin didn’t go to Corellia. No, he knew for a fact that Thrawn would hang himself in his next few words when he had little to nothing to offer on Eira Nevan, and the reasons would be obvious: this was the second time he had fixated on another mission.

On something others in the Empire were tasked with looking in to.

“Given I have a few moments now that we have a Jedi in hand and in transport, I thought I would take them to inquire as to how that is progressing, and what you can tell me of that situation.”

The mention of the successful Jedi capture was really just a way to remind Thrawn he had no idea what he was dealing with. Tarkin had worked side-by-side with Jedi, once. He knew enough to recognize the real from the fake. Anyone could pick up a lightsaber. Several, even, could use the Force.

That didn’t make them a Jedi.

~***~

“Nearly so,” Ae’lia agreed, “I don’t think he was quite 900 when I last saw him, but…,” and she trailed. Would he be 900 now? Had it been that close? Of course, he was dead. He’d never get to see 900 years, and celebrate them. ‘I wonder how that would have been….’

Damnit, she already told herself she wouldn’t cry in front of a baby!

At least Lin was distracting with his disbelief, “Grand Master Yoda was the oldest Jedi, and yes – nearly 900,” she said. “We don’t know what he was, or where he came from. Such things shouldn’t matter to a Jedi.” And yet, when she left, Ae’lia had found out where she was from, and tried to…start something else.

“He taught all the younglings,” Cere told Lin, “To us, he was a gentle teacher, although I hear as a Master he was…demanding.” Or so stories and rumors over Count Dooku went. Even Qui-Gon had shared stories with Kenobi about Dooku’s past with Yoda, and those spread to others.

 

[cleopat]

“Don’t worry, your secret will stay safe with us,” Ezra promised. Besides not wanting to see another person fall victim to the Empire, they may need Vizago again in the future. He had been helpful to the Ghost crew in the past despite his criminal record (but neither Ezra nor Kanan were terribly innocent either in their records).

Vizago shot Ezra a look, but there wasn’t nothing more he could do. The kid hadn’t screwed him up terribly yet, and he wouldn’t sell him out to the Empire knowingly or willingly. With a sigh, he shook his head. “Good luck. I hope you get Kanan back.’

A genuine gesture, Skye noted. Vizago may be a crime lord, but he wasn’t evil. He just did what he could to survive in the time of the Empire, as so many others did. As she did. But that didn’t mean they needed a little help in the form of credits to sway his position.

“Yeah, me too,” Ezra commented, and he turned back to the group. Now they needed to figure out a plan to get an Imperial courier droid and access its information, and this was something Hera needed in on.

“Come on, let’s get back. Time isn’t on our side right now,” Skye said as she already started to walk back in the direction they came from.

~~

Cora allowed her expression to fall with Eli’s question. She set her burger down and allowed the old memories resurface. “I did,” she said, her gaze dipping down before flickering back up to Eli. No tears were shed, but a touch of melancholy crossed her features.

“My aunt and a close friend of mine. Two different battles that had gotten too close to civilization, and they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Only days apart, and her parents didn’t know how to break the news of the two tragedies to their youngest daughter, still so innocent and naive despite the presence of the Clone Wars.

She shrugged and picked her burger back up. “I think it would be hard to find someone who didn’t lose something or someone.” Rich and poor, everyone on Anaxes suffered to some extent, and they had to simply look forward and rebuild their lives after the war ended. But due to its Core status, the planet rebuilt its economy very quickly.

But even today, many people have yet to emotionally heal.

~~

Thrawn would consider Governor Tarkin one of his true intellectual equals in the Empire, and right then, he was reminded as to why he held that opinion. Tarkin read him so easily, and Thrawn knew what Tarkin was fishing for. How could he not?

This was a piece of conversation Thrawn had to navigate carefully, and not say anything about the Jedi in their custody.

Another Jedi, on top of the three he met on Corellia. Truly, how many were left in the galaxy?

“It is progressing exactly as I have planned. I have found that in order to truly get the answers we seek about Miss Eira Nevan, slow and steady wins the race, as I believe the phrase is worded.” He would pretend Corellia wasn’t an error on his record, and that he had truly been focused on the assignment about Eira. Let Tarkin bring up whatever he wanted.

“I am attempting to win her trust, which has been succeeding so far.” He didn’t think Tarkin needed to know about their conversation over gelato after her breakup with Count Malvern, nor did he need to know about their sparring session together.

About his rush of warmth he felt when their bodies had been pressed together.

“In fact, I will be meeting with her soon over dinner in which I hope to further see into what I suspect of her.” A line that he realized made himself feel uneasy. But he swallowed down that feeling as he recollected what he did suspect of her.

~~

Lin’s brows were raised in disbelief over their talks of this Yoda. A 900 year old Jedi. He still couldn’t get over that fact. How powerful was he? How many Jedi had he seen enter and leave the Jedi Order over the centuries?

“I’ve heard that as well,” Cal added. “He was such a patient teacher to the younglings, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if he was rather demanding as a Master.” Cal himself had still only been a youngling when Order 66 was activated, and only a few days earlier, he held a brief conversation with Yoda, who was patient and kind with young Cal’s questions and worries.

Lin let out a low whistle and glanced back down at the sleeping baby. “I definitely bet that this child is older than me.” Which...was hard to believe, but if his species did survive to at least 900 years old, then he imagined their aging would be incredibly slow. He may still be considered a toddler at 75 years old.

Greez shook his head. “If this Yoda was as old and powerful as you all claim, then it’s easy to see why so many are after this child.” Maybe it was a species thing, that they held great abilities with the Force.

But even after traveling with this crew for ten years, he still didn’t understand much about the Force. It still confused him greatly, and he simply trusted Cere and Cal to know what they’re talking about.

 

[Lucyfer]

Vizago wasn’t terrible; Adlai could see that, and he really did mean to get the rest of the funds to Vizago at some point. He suspected that may be a bit tricky, but, he’d find a way. Later. Right now they had to worry about Kanan, and plotting any further around Vizago was still a bad idea, no matter how ‘nice’ he may be. Or how much he preferred Ezra to others.

“Right!” Sabine was quick to join Skye in her assessment, and she gave a wave to Vizago as she turned to follow.

“Yeah, yeah,” Zeb grumbled, but followed along without bidding much of a goodbye, rather like Adlai, as they made their way back to the Ghost, where Hera was waiting for them.

And Chopper, of course, who demanded information immediately, “Chill out, we’ll get it inside the ship,” closed up, and as soon as they were all in the ship, Sabine was the first to break, “The Empire is using courier droids to pass messages back and forth,” she said, “If you let me, Skye, and Adlai go back into a city with Chopper, I’m sure we can get a droid, have Chopper hack it, and find out where Kanan is.”

She said it as if it were all so easy.

~***~

The question had an answer Eli suspected – tragedy had struck close to Cora, with the loss of a friend, and an aunt. She may have been young, but it had likely impacted her all the same. Perhaps even more, as she got older and grew to understand more of what she’d lost.

“I…,” I’m sorry were always the wrong words, “I empathize with your loss, and that of everyone,” the Clone Wars remained a history that most didn’t actually speak of, he’d noticed. He hadn’t heard much of it in the Academy, and even now, he still didn’t hear that much about it from other people.

He could imagine the loss that people were still living with, and he’d seen signs of people’s trauma – mostly in the bias some held towards droids, and the way they flinched around them. Little things like that, not immediately associated with the Clone Wars, but known, all the same. The trauma was still present.

“I learned about it, but…it wasn’t a lived experience for me, and not many people actually…talked about it,” he told her, “I’m sorry if I brought up any bad feelings,” that much he could apologize for, at least, before he shut himself up with more food.

~***~

Thrawn could speak well. Tarkin knew that Thrawn wasn’t lying, in full, but that his words were chosen with more care than usual. The attempt to use a common basic phrase was some evidence of that. He was not speaking freely, but stepping around, though at least he had plans. Tarkin had suspicions about how Thrawn was presenting himself with Eira Nevan, though.

Of course, it could just be Thrawn’s questionable understanding of human cultural norms. Somehow he hadn’t grasped them entirely, just as he hadn’t grasped politics. Lunch or breakfast would be more appropriate times to meet with someone like Eira, alone.

Dinner was not quite that. It had many other implications.

And although Tarkin wanted to ask Thrawn what those suspicions were, he instead asked, “Really? Is that what you were doing on Corellia, Grand Admiral? Looking for a location to have dinner with Miss Nevan?”

~***~

Ae’lia could only chuckle a bit at Lin’s reaction. Sometimes, she forgot how little people knew of the galaxy. She had the privilege of being a Jedi – she had grown up with all different kinds of people, of all different species and ages. This had been normal for her. Yoda and Yaddle were both staples of her childhood, and so were others that shadowed humans in age. “You know wookiees live well over a hundred years, right, Lin?”

She wondered then if he knew how old Maege was. Probably not.

“You’re right, Greez,” Cere said, “That’s why we have to protect him, and if putting him far away from us is the way to do that, then we will. If this is Ahsoka we’re meeting, I do believe we can trust her with the child’s safety.”

Cere didn’t know how Ahsoka felt, at the end, towards Yoda, but she didn’t think that was going to cloud her judgment over one child of the same species. She’d know better than any of the humans here, likely better than Merrin, how to hide this child. Greez would likely be able to vet her deductions, a bit. He couldn’t pass as human, either.

 

[cleopat]

It felt like forever to Hera when the crew finally came back. She waited with slight worry, thinking something would go wrong, as it was an almost guarantee with a crime lord. Even Chopper made a few complaints. Or a lot.

But she didn’t hold back her sigh of relief when they walked back on the ship, and Chopper demanded their information before she could say anything.

“Is that it?” Hera asked dryly, displeasure of the plan evident.

“It’ll be simple enough!” Ezra insisted. “We go into the city with Chopper, temporarily take a courier droid. Let Chopper hack into it, and be back before the Empire suspects a thing.”

Skye lifted her hands and pulled off her helmet. “We?” She had a feeling the kid would try and come with them. In her short time of knowing the crew, she gathered Ezra to be the mischievous type, but willing to do what needed to be done, but he needed to learn patience. Sounds familiar. “You stay here. One Purge Trooper and two Stormtroopers should be enough to not arouse any suspicion. We’ll be back before you know it.”

Hera looked at the three in disguise. It should be a simple enough mission, but in a blink of an eye, everything can go horribly wrong. “Alright, but the moment something starts to go wrong for whatever reason, you come back.” And they’ll figure out another way to get Kanan, hopefully.

~~

Cora gave Eli a small smile of appreciation. It wasn’t too often that she spoke of her loss in the Clone Wars, since the majority of the people she interacted with were also affected. But Eli, from Wild Space, didn’t experience the war like she did. He most likely only heard the stories.

“Oh no, it’s okay,” she quickly assured him. “Sometimes it’s actually nice to talk about it. To this day, my parents still refuse to talk about the Clone Wars, and my siblings are still iffy on the matter.” No one ever talked about it, preferring to look to the future and not focused on their trauma.

Cora never quite understood hiding the memories, but she never fought them on it. That was how they healed.

“But to talk about something far more pleasing,” she started, wanting to shift the mood to something more happy after the day they had, “you said watching a movie tonight sounded good? Was there anything in particular you had in mind?” Focusing on the two of them spending the evening together sounded far more pleasant.

Not that anything will happen, but Cora could still hope for at least a kiss.

~~

There it was.

Thrawn knew exactly why Tarkin had called, and it wasn’t to check up on his progress of Eira. While he may indeed have been interested to learn if he had anything of use yet, he was far more interested to know why their Grand Admiral decided to take a trip to Corellia.

His lips twitched up in a hint of a smile. “Of course not, Governor. I find the food options on Coruscant to be pleasing enough.” Adequate was a better term.

“I had gone to Corellia to deal with a rebel problem that had gone ignored for several days,” he added. Tarkin would demand Thrawn’s thoughts on the mission, and why he went, some time during this conversation, so he went ahead and laid it out there.

“Did you truly want to know about my investigation into Miss Eira Nevan, or is it Corellia you are truly interested in?” Thrawn knew the answer. Tarkin knew the answer. Still, he asked, and anticipated what Tarkin would say next.

~~

Lin breathed out a small huff of laughter. “Yeah, I know, but it’s not something I think about often.” Wait, how old was Maege? He didn’t really know too much about her. Sometimes not knowing too much information about fellow rebels was ideal, since their line of work was very dangerous.

And, glancing at the baby, Lin surmised that it would get even more dangerous very soon.

With how long he had worked with Cere, Greez trusted her intuition. She wouldn’t easily put someone like that baby into the hands of anyone she may have some hesitation with. And the baby wasn’t exactly for someone to dress up and hide, with his green skin and ears larger than its head.

“And then the baby will be protected until it’s safe for him to come out,” Cal said. When the Empire ended, however long that took. Would the baby still be a baby? Maybe Cal could help train the Child. If they wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order, they would need all new padawans to teach.

Or maybe, with the baby’s rare gift, he should be the one to teach them.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai wasn’t surprised that Ezra wanted to join them, and was glad that he was dismissed from it. Too many, and it would be suspicious. He didn’t often see Purge Troopers, or know much about their routines, but he was certain they didn’t really keep company of regular stormtroopers that often.

“We’ll be quick. If we can get back to the earlier location, we’ll go right through the sewers—”

“—the sewer openings, from which you and Skye both dismissed guards to the same location?”

“Ah…heh, yeah, okay, we might have to go about this another way,” Sabine admitted, “I guess we can just walk in to the town. Probably.” She gave a bit of a shrug. “I mean, who’s going to question a Purge Trooper, right?” She gestured to Skye, and Adlai sighed.

Chopper didn’t think this was a good plan anymore.

~***~

Based on the fact Eli didn’t know people who spoke of it, what Cora had to say was no surprise. People just…didn’t talk about it. Not the genocide of an entire culture, not the droids, not the aftermath, or even the wars and battles. They spoke of where they happened, like Mygeeto and Anaxes, but little else.

Separatist worlds, and Separatist people, were still looked on negatively, though Eli didn’t hold that view. Being on the outside had some advantages.

And disadvantages.

He gave a smile, and swallowed down another strip, as Cora put the topic to something happier. ‘Nothing with Eira.’ He told himself, as those were immediately the movies to flood his mind. He’d be doing ‘work’ if he watched one of those, and thinking more of Thrawn than enjoying the movie and his company.

“I didn’t have much in mind, but let’s keep it something light,” he suggested, “I don’t want to think too much.”

~***~

Tarkin could have sighed. Thrawn really wouldn’t do well in politics, but at least this made him easier to deal with on the military level. Even if he seemed to think he knew better than anyone around him. Which, admittedly – he did.

He just forgot the politics part, which was crucial to so much of the military.

“Oh, it was not ignored, I assure you, Grand Admiral,” Tarkin answered that assumption of Thrawn. Some of the politics he didn’t understand, underground criminal networks moving to make things difficult for the Mantis crew. It wasn’t merely that their ship was blocked, that wasn’t why they were trapped there, until just then.

“I understand your venture led to the death of First Sister. Darth Vader is not pleased, and the Grand Inquisitor will be less so, as well. At least his use has already been worn out, but it does delay my venture as I had need of Vader sooner than later,” as Tarkin knew it, Thrawn had not met Vader as he was. He was privy to the fact that Thrawn knew Anakin Skywalker, and he did wonder if the pair ever met, if he’d put the pieces together as Tarkin had, but that was not important.

“Darth Vader is currently investigating that situation. What I want to know is whether or not Corellia had anything to do with your investigation into Miss Nevan, and if it did not, why you thought it was a good idea to move against your directive, step into the operations of Moff Vorru, and aid the escape of the Mantis crew by upsetting the networks established to keep them where they were through careful negotiations of the underworld in Corellia, through your thoughtless action to mobilize Stormtroopers, Grand Admiral?”

Of course, that had also made the underworld all the more volatile to the typical citizen, as well, distressing some senators, among others.

“Because if this has nothing to do with Miss Nevan, then you have made a grave miscalculation.”

~***~

Ae’lia could see the sudden thought pass across Lin’s face, and she couldn’t help but laugh, a little, at it. The act disturbed the baby a little, causing him to wake up with his own laugh. The sound was one he liked to mimic, and Ae’lia immediately felt her heart melting as the confused baby burbled the sound while looking back around, waking up and feeling out the situation.

She really wanted to keep him, too.

“Yes, he will,” Ae’lia agreed.

“Good. I have much to teach him when we can,” Merrin openly volunteered.

“Can uh, non-Dathomirians actually learn what you can do?” Cere asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I have tried to teach Cal,” she gave him a gesture, “It is not my fault he is hard-headed,” though it was said with some play, “this baby will learn.” She gave a decisive nod, as if that settled it.

 

[cleopat]

“Oh come on, it’s a good plan!” Skye insisted to Chopper, who only continued to protest. “In this instance, I don’t see why we couldn’t just simply walk into the city. Like Sabine said, no one’s going to really question a Purge Trooper.”

And if they did, Skye had other means to get past them, even if it meant exposing who she was to Sabine. As long as none of the senior officers questioned her, they should be fine.

“It is risky,” Hera seemed to agree with Chopper, but she shook her head. She knew what Sabine could be capable of, and if Fulcrum trusted the other two enough to send them, then they could do it as well. “But I think it’s a risk we’re all willing to take.”

Skye smiled and gave an appreciative nod towards Hera. “Right,” she slid her helmet back on, “we don’t need to waste anymore time. We need to hurry and find a courier droid.”

~~

Cora could easily agree with Eli’s suggestion. Something light was preferable, after the day they had. She nodded, before taking another bite of her food. “I will not argue against that.”

But what genre would he like? Cora thought she remembered Eli saying he didn’t care much for romances, so she wouldn’t torture him with that suggestion. “How about a comedy?” That seemed safe enough, and definitely didn’t require too much thinking on their part.

Something lighthearted they could both laugh over, and forget about Corellia.

“Do you have any recommendations?” Nothing immediately sprung into her mind for a comedy Eli might also enjoy, but she was also still exhausted from the mission. Attempting to think of a movie was something her brain didn’t want to do, instead of just mindlessly clicking on the first title that popped up on her datapad.

~~

Oh yes, Tarkin is definitely not pleased with him, but Thrawn knew that. Thrawn prepared for that. And Thrawn listened as Tarkin listed off their allies who had previous control over the rebels on Corellia. But Thrawn doubted they had the situation under control as much as they thought they did.

He wouldn’t answer Tarkin’s question, a part of him assuming they were rhetorical anyways, but instead offering up one of his own. “Did you know that there is a rebel cell out there with enough resources to procure an exact replica of an Inquisitor and Purge Trooper uniform?”

His gaze remained calm and collected, never wavering from Tarkin. “Their escape had already started when I arrived. One rebel cell helping another, either a part of a larger network, or attempting to create a network.” All of which meant that the ‘careful negotiations’ were futile at that point, if these rebels were truly well sourced.

“Not to mention, the new rebels came with a Jedi.” Maybe that would spark interest in Tarkin. But no matter the response, Thrawn would not completely regret his venture onto Corellia. While there were losses, he still gained plenty of insight.

~~

Lin felt his heart melt at the sound the baby attempted to mimic, and he had half a thought to grab the baby and hold him himself. But he resisted. Barely. Watching the baby observe its surroundings with curious eyes was enough for now.

Cal’s eyes had flickered onto the waking baby as well, but he looked back at Merrin with her light tease. “Sounds just like you as well, Merrin,” he playfully fired back.

No, they didn’t quite work so well as teacher and student, but Cal appreciated Merrin all the same. They worked well together in a group and worked off of one another’s unique abilities. If they could ever return to the baby, maybe he could learn better from Merrin.

Maybe.

The Child looked around at the faces, smiling and cooing as it sensed no darkness from anyone in the ship. Well, maybe some from Merrin, but the Child had learned that she was a friend. “Did you have a good rest?” Lin asked, and he could only assume the noise the baby made was his way of saying ‘yes.’

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai arched a brow at Skye, even if his helmet was still on. He at least added a cant as she slipped hers right back on.

“Right! Let’s get back to our spot!” Sabine cheered, “We’ll, uh, figure things out from there.” Maybe Hera could drop them closer to the city, but she wouldn’t ask that. It was a risk for all of them. Still, they first had to return to where they started, they were too far out from the city from where Vizago was.

“Anything we should do?” Zeb asked, but Sabine shook her head.

“You, Ezra, and Hera, just sit tight!”

At least Sabine wasn’t going on her own – or even just with Chopper, and a Purge trooper would easily clear the way for them.

~***~

Put on the spot, Eli knew he couldn’t think of anything, particularly in comedy. It might be best to even find something neither of them had watched before, and he tried to think of holofilms that had come out recently that he wanted to see, but hadn’t had the time.

“Hmmm.”

One came to mind, “What about the Black Nerf? It’s supposed to be a kind of parody of spy movies,” since spies would usually have badass names, and this spy…did not. At all. “It’s one I heard about recently, but I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t know if it’s any good.”

So at least right now his own personal tastes weren’t necessarily in question. Hopefully. Unless there was just something wrong with the parody genre of comedy.

~***~

Thrawn was, once again, avoiding the question. He offered what he learned from Corellia, parts of which Tarkin already knew from Vader. The Inquisitor had a doppleganger who could use the Force; cameras on Corellia had caught some of it. He stared at the hologram of Thrawn, willing him to get to the point.

When it seemed he’d exhausted what he had to say, Tarkin answered: “Why do you think I am on Lothal, Thrawn?” There was a bored drawl in his voice, “Do you truly believe I would waste my time handling a singular rebel group if I did not have some hope they would provide more detail into the growing network of rebels which seem to have Jedis on their side?”

The Mantis crew was one infamous group. It had been the only one, until now – now they were popping up, and Tarkin did not take that to be a coincidence. This wasn’t meant to be public knowledge.

Not even Imperial knowledge. “Your insight does you a service, but at this moment we are not speaking of the fact there is a larger rebellion that is coming together.” Because it was a fact, but the damage it would do to morale, as well as their advantage, would be alarming.

“That is why I have you following a lead, as well, Grand Admiral, though you seem to insist on doing anything else in the world than a job that hundreds would kill for.” Though the majority would be entirely too inept, too forward, or too stupid, to find what Tarkin wanted.

Or, worse, too taken in by Eira’s charms.

“If you are concerned of where they acquire costumes and funds, consider what an actress has access to, Grand Admiral.” Perhaps realizing what happened on Corellia would set Thrawn back on the right track.

~***~

Ae’lia lifted the child just a bit to aid in its looking around and burbling noises as Lin asked it about its sleep. “It needs to sleep more,” though that was probably a pointless endeavor at this time now that it was aware of everyone and happy to see them all.

Cere just chuckled and went on back towards the cockpit.

Eventually, they would come out of lightspeed, and the ship would start the process for landing, during which Ae’lia would float the datapad once more – keeping it out of the grabby hands of the baby – and send the coordinates to Ahsoka so she could meet up with them as soon as they landed.

“We’re going to have to ask Ahsoka if she can get us back to Coruscant, or a safer port, Lin,” Ae’lia said, “We can’t exactly go back with the Mantis.”

Cere chuckled, “I can’t even imagine what would happen if we showed up above Coruscant.”

“Nothing good,” Merrin said, as if that needed to be said.

 

[cleopat]

Hera headed back to the cockpit so she could maneuver the ship back to their original spot, and still hidden from any Imperial eyes.

Ezra still wasn’t pleased that he had to remain behind. He crossed his arms, but he wouldn’t say anything more. He knew it was useless. He would get his chance to help soon enough.

“Also, have your comms handy in case things go south,” Skye said. Hopefully there would be no need for an emergency escape, but she would rather have them over prepared than not ready at all, leaving the trio at the mercy of the Empire.

It didn’t take them long to reach the original spot. The ramp lowered as Hera returned from the cockpit, and she gave them a small nod, “Good luck out there.” Not that they would need it, she hoped.

~~

Cora cocked a brow, an amused expression on her face, at the name of the film. It was one she wasn’t sure she heard before, but it didn’t sound terrible. A parody may be nice, something they could both laugh at and forget the day.

“That sounds good,” she replied with a nod. “I think we could use something rather silly right now.” She normally didn’t go for parody movies, but she also never really gave them a good chance, but with Eli? She would.

Maybe she would even love it.

“What time and where did you want to meet?” Cora assumed Eli would want to get a few things done beforehand, like how she wanted to take a shower. And whose room would they hang out in? Did Eli have a larger room? She wanted to think so given his rank and close ties with Grand Admiral Thrawn, but she wouldn’t assume.

~~

Thrawn found that he didn’t enjoy the connotations Tarkin’s words held. He was right, an actress of Eira’s fame would have a wealth of resources to high quality costumes and excess funds. But there were billions of people on Coruscant, with many other rich, famous, and resourceful figures as well.

Still, he wouldn’t disregard Tarkin’s comment. “I am fully aware of the resources at Miss Nevan’s disposal.” The subject of her upcoming play, though, didn’t help her image.

“This interrogation of yours, nothing was revealed of a larger rebellion, was there?” He backtracked for only a moment, if only to confirm the suspicions he held. “No, I imagine not, because many of the cells don’t know of it yet. They’re still disorganized and weak.”

The rebels on Corellia didn’t know of the rebellion, that he was certain.

“No matter, I am to see Miss Nevan soon, and I will take your words into consideration when I am speaking with her.” And if she was ultimately guilty, or in leagues with someone who was a rebel, then he would do his duty for the Empire with no hesitation.

“Oh, one more thing,” he continued. “Do you know of any Jedi with the name Ae’lia?” Without a last name, it may take longer to reach an identity, but Tarkin was resourceful.

~~

Something tells me that child won’t sleep when you ask him to. With a slight smile, Greez shook his head and followed Cere back to the cockpit to start preparing the ship for landing.

“Ah, yes, that is a good point,” Lin chuckled. They all were in agreement that the Ghost wasn’t exactly the most covert ship out there, and showing back up in the Core so soon after Corellia was just asking to be arrested.

“If that happened,” Cal started, “I’d imagine that Thrawn guy would be much harder to lose a second time.” Not when they were in the capital of the Empire, the place Palpatine called home. They barely escaped the Grand Admiral on Corellia.

The ship soon landed, and Cal looked down at the baby still burbling away at everyone. “I guess this is the end of our journey together.” The baby cocked his head, as if a loth-dog trying to understand, before his attention turned to BD-1 perched on Cal’s shoulder.

He made grabby hands for the moving toy, but BD simply lowered its body closer to Cal. It didn’t want to be the baby’s toy.

 

[Lucyfer]

Sabine would definitely have her comm, and she doubted Ezra, Zeb, or Hera would be far from their own. Especially not Ezra; he’d be alert for any way he could get involved, not that they’d give it to him. Sabine wanted this to go smoothly, and so once they landed she was first out of the ship, with Chopper and Adlai following – one more begrudgingly than the other.

“Okay, I’ll get us towards Lothal, and then…I’m not too sure where to go but I figure we’ll eventually see some droids moving and we’ll just have to pick one.”

Chopper remained entirely unconvinced this was a good idea.

“Don’t worry, if they ask about you, we’ll just say you’re, uh…you’re a prototype.”

He had plenty of things the usual astromech didn’t, after all, “and we’re getting you your black paint job, now come on!”

And off she went towards leading back to Lothal, not through the same sewers this time around, lest they find people waiting for them, prepared to secure anyone who came by to use sewer entrances now that they’d had two duped recently. At least they could walk in the open like this.

~***~

Eli looked at his datapad to assess the time, then said, “How about 19:00?” Eli asked, thinking that was a good medium. Not too late, definitely not too early, he could grab dinner a bit before if he wanted to, and he had time to consider anything he may be forgetting with regards to his duties.

Even if he was technically relieved of them for a bit.

“We could meet at my room or yours,” he did have a bigger one, but it wasn’t something he actively boasted about. He didn’t really prepare it for visitors all that much. It wasn’t messy by any means, but it was certainly lived in.

He supposed if she was interested in meeting in his room, this would also give him time to clean it up a little and set things up to be ‘nicer’ and more ‘date-like’. He wasn’t completely sure what that would entail but he’d figure it out in the panic.

~***~

‘I’ll let you assume that.’ The interrogation itself had yet to yield results, but Tarkin was also keenly aware of patterns. He did not think the group on Lothal was so ignorant of another Rebel cell. He’d have his answers soon enough, however, and not add more fuel to something Thrawn wasn’t meant to know about, anyways. If he wanted to assume that Tarkin knew nothing, then he would allow it.

There were still times it was better to be underestimated.

Even if did annoy him that Thrawn thought he was still getting away without a few more questions.

The name he spoke was, surprisingly, familiar. Tarkin’s brows lifted, before a slight chuckle escaped him, “Ae’lia Kore,” it wasn’t a name he’d heard in a long while, but hardly one he was soon to forget, given what had occurred with that Jedi, “One of three to leave the Jedi Order in my lifetime,” the others being Dooku Serenno and Ahsoka Tano, and he knew some had wondered if Ae’lia would go the route of Dooku.

They apparently had some frivolous similarities, but mostly, people were just on edge. “We never met, but there was quite a bit of news regarding it, given she led the assault on Diado and ended up massacring Separatist hostages, although these hostages were running a factory for the Separatists, so it’s hard to say how unwilling they were,” a shrug. He knew how it had been spun in the media that day, of course, on both sides.

Some people weren’t cut out for the ruthlessness of war. Particularly Jedi. “I haven’t heard her name since. I take it that’s the Jedi you found on Corellia?” The one who wasn’t Cere or Cal, of course.

~***~

“With Merrin’s skills? Probably not,” Ae’lia chuckled, discounting Thrawn’s capabilities for morale. She knew it was foolish to do so, but the fact remained they wouldn’t be testing that, either. Ahsoka would help, or Shay would help. Either way, they wouldn’t put the Mantis at such risk.

She could only laugh a bit at the Child’s attempt to grab the droid, but she wouldn’t move the Child any closer to BD, either. Cere lowered the ramp, but didn’t immediately go down onto the planet once they’d landed. She came closer to the small gathering. “It’s a good thing he probably doesn’t understand.”

And probably wouldn’t remember any of them. That was the sad part, but that was what they had to accept in order to save his life. “I do wonder how long until he starts talking and remembering things.”

Ae’lia could only shake her head. She had no idea how long that would be. “Certainly before a century,” she offered, as a ballpark, at least. “I mean…100 should be like…10, right?”

Cere shrugged. “We don’t know how long Yoda would have lived….”

Maybe his species could go on to 3,000?

 

[cleopat]

Skye followed behind Sabine, allowing her to lead the group back to Lothal. Although she was confident she knew the way back, she would allow Sabine to have the lead. Just in case.

“We’ll just walk as if we have a particular destination in mind within the city, then find a droid, which there should be plenty of right now, if the Empire is relying on courier droids while communication is down.” Which should mean that they would be easy to locate, she hoped. “And if we have to, we can try and not be near the main road. I think this will be easy.”

Chopper disagreed with Skye, greatly.

“Well just act like a normal droid when we’re in the city, and you should be fine.”

Chopper took offense to her comment, but it would do as instructed. It had no choice, now that they were drawing closer to the city.

~~

As Cora finished up the rest of her burger, she nodded at the suggestion. It wasn’t too early or late, and she had plenty of time to get ready. Would Eli expect something more casual? Would he dress up, even if they were hanging out in someone’s quarters?

She didn’t know if she should try and put on a little makeup, or leave her face bare.

There were too many decisions to make.

And, hoping he had a couch, Cora said, “How about your room?” Her own room had a desk, a chair, and a bed, and though she wouldn’t complain about cuddling on the bed while watching a movie, it could also serve to make the situation a bit awkward.

She didn’t even know if she wanted to bring that reasoning up. Cora hoped that Eli just knew.

~~

Even if they were in the same room, Thrawn wondered how much better he would be able to read Tarkin’s body language or not. The man, like Thrawn, always composed himself well, that it was difficult to know what he was thinking, or how he perceived Thrawn’s observations.

“Ae’lia Kore,” he mumbled, testing the name for himself. It was one he did not recognize, but that wasn’t surprising. He didn’t know the Jedi like Tarkin did.

She was a rare Jedi who left, and from what Tarkin mentioned, Thrawn had to surmise that the pressure of the Clone Wars exacerbated her decision. He had read that the Jedi were supposedly keepers of the peace, but to fight as leaders of an army? How many of the Jedi disagreed with that?

“Yes, that was the Jedi who came disguised as an Inquisitor,” he confirmed. “This obviously leads me to wonder at how many more Jedi are out there. Certainly all these Jedi coming out of hiding would inspire others to do the same.” Which meant Darth Vader and the Inquisitorius had quite the task ahead of them.

~~

“Maybe one day we’ll know,” Cal said with a shrug. Maybe the baby could remember things now. The Force could grant the ability to search one’s own memories, and with what the Child already displayed of his powers, Cal wouldn’t doubt that he would remember this group.

But how long his species could live would remain a mystery. Unless they came across archival records or another one of his kind, they may never know the answer to that.

“Wow, so you may be a baby longer than I’m alive,” Lin said, gently touching the Child’s arm with one finger in a light stroke. “That’s...bizarre to think about.” Assuming Lin lived to an old age, but he was a rebel. He prepared himself for an early death the moment he became part of the Shah-tezh.

Cal chuckled. “You get used to it.” There were so many species in the universe, and having once been of the Jedi Order, he met many of them, some of ages he couldn’t even fathom as a young child.

At that moment, the unmistakable hum of a ship gradually grew louder until it stopped not that far from the Ghost.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Right. Easy-peasy!” Sabine agreed, although she had growing doubts as they got to the city itself. Sure, there were plenty of droids zipping about, but how were they going to get one and not draw attention?

At least no one stopped them walking into Lothal.

“Take us closer to some of the alleys off the main road, I have an idea,” Adlai said lowly, and Sabine nodded, leading them off the main road and closer to side roads and alleys. Thankfully, droids weren’t too difficult to find, even this way.

Adlai let out a sharp whistle when he was secure with how far off the main roads they were, trying to get the attention of a droid, “Hey! Clunker!” Imperials were usually rude.

It seemed to work in this case, “She has a message that needs to get to Tarkin!” he jerked his thumb towards Skye.

~***~

Eli nodded. This would give him time to get his room prepared, “All right, we can meet there,” he supposed he did have an actual living space they could use, and not just a bedroom. “I’ll make sure to have things set up then, and I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

Not that he was expecting it, but they did just deal with Jedi out of nowhere, so he wasn’t putting anything down as ‘impossible’ right then.

Should he prep snacks?

Should he dress up?

A thousand questions would probably torment him until they got to that moment, questions he knew he couldn’t really ask without it coming out wrong. If he asked about dressing up, he’d probably sound like he was complaining about the thought of looking nice, wouldn’t he?

Why were these things always complicated?

~***~

Tarkin would make note of it, send the information on. That a Jedi who had left wasn’t killed, wasn’t much of a surprise to him, but it was a nuisance. Some time to grow a conscious. “There aren’t that many left,” Tarkin did say, “The Inquisitorius have done their job quite well eliminating those who avoided Order 66. I imagine Ae’lia is a mere oversight due to the fact she left the order. It’ll be rectified.”

And all the other Jedi would meet their ends, as well. There weren’t many left to come out of hiding, though Tarkin knew not all had been dealt with.

Otherwise….

Well, he didn’t need to think that with the Grand Inquisitor not far.

“If some rise up, it will only make it so much easier to find them. We can only hope that your predictions are correct, and they will begin to rise – but that is not your concern.” That was his concern, Vader’s concern, and the concern of the Inquisitorius.

For now, Thrawn had to deal with a rebel problem that might already be too large, “Your concern remains the same, and so does my interest in it. What suspicions do you have of Miss Nevan?”

~***~

Ae’lia heard the sound of the ship as well, and held up the Child, “Somehow I…don’t think an inquisitor walking out is the best first image for Ahsoka,” even if Ahsoka had met her before, and perhaps knew the role she was playing. She still hadn’t confirmed who she was to Ahsoka, and the image wasn’t a good one either way.

Cere nodded, and took the child, “I’ll go first,” though she knew the others wouldn’t be long in following.

Ae’lia just sighed as Cere made her way out, and though she knew that perhaps of all the Jedi, and former Jedi, Ahsoka might understand…she still didn’t like facing it.

But she got back to her feet and pulled her Inquisitor helmet into her hands.

Cere was the one to see Ahsoka first. Another she’d not met, but another she’d heard so much about. She paused a few yards from the new ship, child babbling nonsense at everything, “It shouldn’t surprise me that so many of us are working against the Empire, but I am still surprised,” Cere said, “Cere Junda – and you must Ahsoka Tano.”

She held up the child.

“This is our baby that needs some help.” It let out a high laugh at being raised up, clearly delighted.

 

[cleopat]

Skye seemed to be the only one in the small group who didn’t have doubts about the current mission. How hard would it be to acquire a droid?

Not terribly, after Adlai got an idea and led them away from the main roads, before calling the attention of one of the droids. The R4 courier droid moved over to them without issue. It recognized the uniforms that they were wearing and assumed they were Imperials. It saw nothing wrong.

Skye crouched down to better see the droid, and as a precaution, she froze the droid in its place with the slightest hand motion in case it figured out that they were no longer friend but foe. The courier droid couldn’t say anything about it; they were programmed to say yes or no.

“Alright, now!” she whispered to Chopper, who rolled over and sliced into the droid’s information for anything relating to Kanan.

~~

Eli seemed to agree to meet in his quarters, nothing about his expression indicated annoyance or regret, so Cora was satisfied with their plans. “Hopefully the Grand Admiral will allow you to have an evening off,” she teased, but they both knew.

Thrawn wouldn’t hesitate to contact Eli, or even Cora, if he needed them. And if he did, she may just go to Karyn and bemoan about how this is a sign things weren’t meant to be. Karyn would knock some sense back into her.

“But I think everything sounds good.” They would just have to hope that they would get to have one break that would continue to tomorrow for an actual relaxing day together. “I can’t wait.”

Or maybe she should go to Karyn, just to ask her about Eli. About what he may be expecting for their movie night together. Was he formal? Casual? Oh kriff, stop overthinking it.

~~

That was not your concern.

No, it wasn’t any of Thrawn’s concern, but if the Jedi became involved in rebel cells, then it would become his concern. The Jedi have experience of leading groups into battle and being skilled strategists. The Empire had to be prepared for them.

But Tarkin was making it clear that he wanted to get back on track to the reason for his call.

“There is nothing terribly substantial yet, but there are some slight...quirks I have noticed. One, she hides the true extent of her fighting capabilities. I caught a glimpse of this at the Alderaan Gallery, before she seemed to realize her mistake and backed away.” And when they sparred together, Thrawn still believed she held back what she truly knows.

He would withhold that particular information from Tarkin.

“And second, she seems to hold a particular interest in the Wookies. She understands Shyriiwook, and attempted to learn it at one point in time.” This point was only mentioned due to the current political ramifications surrounding any potential loyalties to the Wookies, and what that could mean for their opinion on the Empire.

~~

Ahsoka came out of her ship donning a cloak to conceal her identity, a precaution in case anyone was with Eira who didn’t need to know her identity. Many rebels still didn’t know who Fulcrum was.

It was safer that way.

But it wasn’t Eira that Ahsoka saw coming towards her. She didn’t recognize the woman, but the Force that surrounded her was unmistakable.

And so was the species of the baby she held in her arms.

Ahsoka lowered the hood over her head. “Nice to meet you, Cere Junda.” Her gaze shifted down to the baby, and a smile spread across her face with his laughter. “He really is a baby Yoda,” she chuckled, recalling how Eira described him earlier.

“Yes, I think I know where I can bring him to be safe,” she held out her arms for the baby, after which her attention would turn towards Eira, with the other rebels behind her. “And your name really isn’t Eira, is it?” She asked, a knowing smile on her face.

Ahsoka already had her suspicions that this was Ae’lia Kore from their recent meeting, but after what she heard happened on Corellia, her suspicions were confirmed.

 

[Lucyfer]

Chopper was able to find information – and what he found was alarming. He let out a trill of beeps, telling them that Tarkin was leaving Lothal soon – as in, within the next hour – to go to Mustafar with Kanan and the Grand Inquisitor.

Sabine didn’t understand. “What’s so important about Mustafar?”

Adlai did, if only because of Eira. “It’s where Jedi go to die….” He didn’t like this, and he gave Skye a panicked look, even as Sabine seemed even more confused, “We have to head to Mustafar.”

There was no way they were going to get into Tarkin’s ship securely, and pull this off, while Tarkin was above Lothal. He felt compelled to ask Skye if she wanted to back out, but he didn’t. He had a feeling he knew the answer. Hearing this, Skye wasn’t going to want to leave Kanan to that fate.

“Wait – how do you know that?” Sabine asked, “I’ve never heard of Mustafar before.”

“I work in Coruscant, I know a lot about the innerworkings of the Empire,” he covered.

Chopper confirmed it, though. He’d heard Hera and Kanan both mention it before. Conversations he wasn’t supposed to overhear.

~***~

Eli laughed at the tease, fully understanding it. Thrawn didn’t try to overwork him. Thrawn didn’t try to overwork anyone, really, but he also knew who he could depend on, and for what. Eli was his right-hand man. Eli would be there for anything. The war was larger and far more pressing than his romantic life…although he really wished it wasn’t.

He wished the war was won. He wished there weren’t rebels and they really were just keeping the peace from small nuisances.

But he knew better.

Many in the military of the Empire knew better.

“Yeah,” Eli agreed, “it’ll be a nice break from everything,” he said, and finishing up his meal, added, “Speaking of, I should get back to everything to make sure nothing comes up at the last minute to disturb me,” make sure all his work was done, and that he could actually enjoy the time with Cora without worrying about some project or other.

~***~

The quirks weren’t much. Tarkin could easily imagine lies to go with the first – Eira had been in holofilms involving action, after all. Some took the art more seriously than others. Shyriiwook was interesting, in some respects, though Eira was old enough to have been alive before the wookiees were turned into a slave creature.

Old enough to know when wookiees had ‘sentient’ status, which they no longer held.

You can’t enslave something that can’t reason.

Tarkin sighed, “I suppose that is more than most would learn,” he allowed, though he had obviously been hoping for more. It didn’t seem like Thrawn had yet spent much time looking into her films, or her music. Well, that was on Thrawn. Tarkin wasn’t going to repeat himself. “Pieces of the puzzle, at any rate. I hope you will be able to solve it before your time is up.”

If Thrawn hadn’t, Tarkin couldn’t hold him on Coruscant for any further time.

He’d have to task someone else with this.

~***~

Merrin was glad to see another non-human in all this mess, and Ahsoka’s energy was…different. More akin to Cere, but not so dark. Still, darker than anyone else around her, though the baby seemed willing to accept her as Cere handed him over. Merrin wondered about her story, but for the moment, she hung back.

She let the Jedis – or once-Jedis? – reconnect.

Ae’lia gave a small smile and inclined her head, hiding her face a bit as she said, “Technically, Eira Nevan is the name my parents gave me,” she answered, “But you’re not wrong. I’m Ae’lia Kore,” she lifted her gaze, “but I can use that as freely as you can use Ahsoka.”

It didn’t matter that they left the Order, and Ahsoka knew that, given all of her own precautions. “People see what they want to see,” Ae’lia gave a small smile, “and you know how many of us humans look alike,” a chuckle, “with a little…persuasion…I’ve convinced the galaxy of who I am.” Hiding right in the public eye.

Of course, Ae’lia Kore really didn’t look like Eira Nevan.

The attire, the make-up, how they wore their hair, how they walked – Ae’lia had changed up much when she realized she had to. “I suppose I can’t do that any longer with the rebels, though.”

She had one hell of a reckoning waiting for her.

 

[cleopat]

Skye felt her blood turn to ice. Mustafar. She heard of the planet. What Jedi hasn’t?

It’s where Jedi go to die…

She remained kneeling on the ground, frozen, for a few seconds. Her hand subconscious tightened, causing the sides of the droid to begin to dent. Shit. She quickly let go of the droid, and it resumed its course to its destination. Oh I hope Sabine was too busy talking to Adlai to notice that.

Even if she wasn’t...Skye wondered if she should tell the group what she was, given what they had to face. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

She had to do this, for Kanan. Skye wouldn’t let a Jedi die this way.

“We have to get back. Now.” She rose back up on her feet and started back the way they came from without seeing if Adlai or Sabine was following behind. “This changes a lot.”

~~

Cora nodded, as she couldn’t fault Eli for wanting to make sure everything was taken care of. That there was no chance, or a small one, to be called on by Thrawn, or anyone else, either right before their movie or during it, when they were enjoying each other’s company.

She finished up the remaining few bites of her meal before she stood up with the tray in her hands. “I should also make sure nothing requires my immediate attention. It would be rather unfortunate to get a call in the middle of our evening.”

Rather, Cora would be pissed.

“I look forward to seeing you tonight,” she said with a wide grin. Should it be called a date? Or just a get together? But it didn’t matter; Cora was excited to finally spend some alone time with Eli that wasn’t related to work.

~~

Thrawn knew what he had wasn’t much, but as Tarkin said, they were all simply pieces of a larger puzzle, and Thrawn had more pieces that could be a part of the puzzle or not. But he didn’t tell Tarkin of them, in case they were irrelevant. Or if they were tied to something else, which he suspected.

Either way, Thrawn was certain he would be able to figure out Eira Nevan in three months’ time.

“Indeed they are, and I fully intend to find out more of her in the next day or so.” This time he would have to do research ahead of time. Take an evening off and watch her movies, or try and listen to her music, even if he couldn’t understand music.

Maybe he would task someone else with her music.

“I do hope everything is going well for you on Lothal. I hope the destruction of the Communications Tower isn’t impeding any efforts to stop the rebels.” A sly hint of what Thrawn already knew. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Tarkin would have a difficult time very soon.

~~

Ahsoka smiled down at the baby, and he reached one small hand up to grab one of her lekku. “No, no, don’t do that,” she gently chided, placing one hand over his and lowering it back to his body. The baby cooed, as if asking why he couldn’t play with what he thought was a toy.

“I thought you looked familiar.” She had known of Ae’lia back when they were both in the Jedi Order, and of course, which Jedi didn’t know of her leaving? Just as they knew of Ahsoka’s trials and departure. They both saw how the Jedi lost their way.

She would understand the need to keep her name hidden, as much as Ahsoka’s name couldn’t be freely spoken, and she answered that with a silent nod. “I must admit, that is pretty smart, and bold.” To hide in plain sight? Very gutsy to even attempt it, but Ae’lia managed her new image for years now.

With Ae’lia’s realization, Ahsoka gave a slight chuckle and shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Word of a new Jedi with two lightsabers has quickly spread, and now the Empire and the Rebellions know of what happened on Corellia.” Although, from what she heard in a brief update from Hera, she wondered how long the focus would be on Corellia, with the dangerous mission the rebels on Lothal were attempting.

It was foolish, it went against what Ahsoka told them to do, but she couldn’t fault them for it.

“Shay is going to be so pissed,” Lin whispered. Or, rather, stage-whispered. He wasn’t hiding those words from anyone there.

 

[Lucyfer]

Sabine was, thankfully, too caught up in her conversation to notice that bit with the droid, though her attention turned to Skye was she was immediately resolute on getting to Mustafar.

Adlai nodded, “Let’s go,” there was no time to waste. They likely needed to beat, or at least meet, Tarkin’s ship at Mustafar. From Mustafar, they could figure out what to do – whether to attempt to break into Tarkin’s ship, or…well…go down to the planet. Adlai was really hoping they’d stick with Tarkin’s ship.

He didn’t want to go down to Mustafar.

And he really didn’t want to meet Darth Vader.

Thankfully, Sabine didn’t hesitate, and was quick to follow after the pair. As was Chopper.

Again, Adlai lightly set his hand on Skye’s shoulder, in spite of the situation and their disguises. It was brief, but meant to communicate his own concern, his worries, along with his own resolve to still march in at her side and try to save Kanan from this fate.

~***~

Eli returned that grin, “Me, too,” he wouldn’t call it a date – that was tomorrow, right? This was just…being together, and aware of romantic intentions, watching a mov—okay this was probably a date. But he still wouldn’t say that in case Cora wasn’t thinking it. Besides, a date was usually dinner and a movie.

Not just movie.

‘Stop it.’ He was definitely overthinking still as he set his tray down, “See you soon, Cora,” and he would head off to check on his various tasks, and the Bridge, to make sure everything did seem to be in order…before he went back to his room and began to panic-clean it, and second guess every decision.

Should he have a blanket on the couch?

More pillows?

Snacks?!

He should probably just call Faro….

~***~

Tarkin hoped that Thrawn was right, “Then I’ll expect an update, soon,” as Thrawn claimed he would find out more. Tarkin would want to hear it, and once they had Kanan on Mustafar, he would have more time for such things. He’d be overseeing the destruction of Kanan’s rebel cell, but it would be easier, once they knew what befell Kanan.

Or whoever he really was.

The comment about the tower was noted, and Tarkin understood it was Thrawn’s attempt to be petty. Or he read it as such, used to it from people like Krennic, and so he arched a brow at Thrawn’s attempt that fell utterly flat. “One day, Grand Admiral, you may actually understand the cost of war, when we are in a war with competent foes.”

The destruction of a communications tower was hardly any loss. If anything, it was a boon. Information about Lothal wasn’t getting out. Of course, it meant that any conversing on Lothal had to be done through droids, and that slowed things down, but a meaningless loss, really.

“I thought you understood that after Batonn. Perhaps, I was wrong.”

~***~

Ae’lia kept expecting harsh words, but so far, she had not found them. The guilt for surviving, the guilt for leaving the Jedi, was constant in these settings, but no one seemed to be upset with her. Then again – many of them probably carried that same guilt for surviving. And Ahsoka, for leaving.

Could they have really done anything if they hadn’t left, though?

They would never know.

And so she allowed a more genuine smile to curve her lips, even as Ahsoka confirmed that her identity was blown, and Lin stage-whispered. Cere and Merrin laughed a bit at that, and Ae’lia nudged him to make him silent.

Shay was going to be, though.

“Speaking of Shay,” Ae’lia took hold of that, “We need a ride back to Coruscant, or to be dropped somewhere we can get a ride back.” Somewhere that somehow wouldn’t be suspicious of an Inquisitor and a Purge Trooper. “…Maybe different clothes.” They hadn’t packed much for the return trip, in any case, but all of that was lost in the ship on Corellia.

Cere gave them both a once over, “Well, you’re too short for anything of mine,” Cere said, though with a bit of a laugh. It wasn’t by much, though Merrin was a little shorter.

Merrin rolled her eyes, “I may have something,” she offered, and strode back towards the ship. With rumors of the Inquisitor-Jedi, that wouldn’t be good to show up like that on Coruscant. Or anywhere.

 

[cleopat]

Skye understood the simple gesture, and she wanted nothing more than to turn around and bury her face into Adlai’s chest, without all the trooper parts in between them. She wouldn’t reach up with her hand to touch his, but she attempted to reach out to him with the Force with every ounce of gratitude and appreciation she could.

But she didn’t know if that would work, so she lightly flicked his ear with the Force. You don’t have to do this.

He risked so much by agreeing to go to Mustafar. Skye almost wanted to ask him to stay behind, that he didn’t need to do this, but she knew what answer she would get. Adlai had been a rebel for years, he knew of the risks and would never back down.

They left the city with no issues, and no one spared them a glance. “Maybe we can steal an Imperial transport,” Skye said suddenly. An Imperial transport could get them onto Tarkin’s ship with no issue.

It would be getting off that would be the problem.

~~

As she left the cafeteria, Cora smoothed down the smile on her face lest she wanted anyone thinking she was insane. Or decided to ask what was going on.

To help calm herself down, somewhat, she took out her datapad to immediately send a message to Faro.

I need help. Please meet me at my quarters in ten minutes if you are available.​

She hoped Faro was free. It was an emergency dammit!

Okay, not quite an emergency, but she knew Faro would be willing to help.

When Cora reached her room, she went ahead inside to think about how to prepare for that night. Or what Eli may expect from the evening. Why did something so simple have to be so complicated?

~~

One day you may actually understand the cost of war.

Thrawn was well acquainted with the harsh realities of war. Of the loss and sacrifice it required, but he remained silent. Tarkin knew nothing of his life before the Empire, or of his homeworld, and it would remain so.

“I am fully aware of the loss that was Batonn.” An unnecessary tragedy that he still held high suspicions over the involved Governor Pryce had in the explosion. But short of a confession, there was no proof of that.

It was simply an unfortunate error and loss, but the Batonn rebels were no more.

“But I would not be surprised if there is outside help coming to the aid of these rebels. A destroyed communications tower may make this easier for them.” Help came for the rebels on Corellia, despite the situation they were in, and they managed to escape.

For it to happen on Lothal, after the message that Ezra Bridger kid sent? Thrawn would be surprised if it didn’t happen.

~~

Ahsoka nodded at Ae’lia’s request. It was one she could do, if they didn’t mind a bit of a detour at first. But while she discussed with the other crew of needing a different outfit, the baby distracted her yet again as he tried to grab a lek, apparently still seeing it as some sort of toy it needed to play with.

“Come now, don’t do that,” Ahsoka urged with a gentle voice, and the baby stared up at her with big eyes. She sighed.

Meanwhile, when Eira mentioned needing different clothes, Lin realized he would need the same as well. “Yeah, I will have to agree with her on this one. I doubt this uniform will blend in well.”

Cal chuckled, “Although it may be a little big on you, I may have something you can use.” There was only one human male in the Ghost crew, so Lin would have to make do with whatever Cal had. He could probably find something to tie around his waist if necessary.

He followed Merrin into the ship to grab clothes for Lin.

After the two went inside the ship, Ahsoka spoke up, “I can take you back to Coruscant, but it won’t be immediate. There is a problem on Lothal that I need to go help.”

 

[Lucyfer]

The feelings part of the Force didn’t work, but Adlai felt the flick, and wondered about it, screwing up his face behind the helmet as they walked and turning his head to look at her, as his hand left her shoulder. He wouldn’t get any answer, of course. There was too much they couldn’t say.

“We don’t want to leave the Ghost behind,” Sabine said.

“Stealing a transport doesn’t necessarily mean leaving it behind. It means the Ghost doesn’t get locked up in some hangar,” Adlai suggested to Sabine.

Sabine wasn’t sure they had the time for that sort of thing, but then again, they didn’t have the time to get captured in an Imperial starship, either – and they’d never leave the Ghost behind. “Okay, okay, we’ll run things by Hera and see what she has to say,” though if this Mustafar was as bad as everyone here believed, then Sabine could only imagine this situation getting worse.

~***~

Faro received a message from Cora after Eli checked in at the Bridge. He’d seemed nervous – not a bad sort of nervous, exactly, but all the same – nervous. Seeing the message from Cora gave her some ideas of what the situation may be, and she laughed a little to herself.
She was still on duty, though.

Can’t. Work. What’s up, Cora?​

She’d be off in a bit, but for the moment she’d try to help from afar and see if there was anything to be done. She knew this wasn’t an actual emergency, but she also imagined Cora would be freaking out without someone to talk to.

At least work in the Bridge was pretty chill when they were literally just sitting above Coruscant.

~***~

‘That you still call it a loss when it was a victory shows you do not.’ Tarkin would not comment on that, of course. It proved his point that Thrawn had yet to accept these things in the name of victory. Of course, his brand of care was useless to sparing losses of Imperials, and leaving prisoners to interrogate. It had its use.

The Batonn incident had been a good change from Thrawn’s norm, showing what he was capable of, under pressure.

No matter, Tarkin would drop that. “I hope so,” was what he said to Thrawn instead as Thrawn offered a warning, “It’s easier to shoot rebels if you can see them.” And if they did not react, if they did not find a way to try and rise up to save their friend, or respond after the fact, then Tarkin would truly have to wonder if he’d taken a leader, or just a pawn.

Not that a Jedi as a pawn would surprise him.

They were good followers, once upon a time, no matter how they called themselves ‘general’ on the field.

“That is all that I needed to speak with you about,” Tarkin allowed, “I will look for your update in the next few days, Grand Admiral.”

~***~

Of course, as Ahsoka turned her attention from the infant to speak of Lothal, he once again tried to grab her lek, this time almost immediately when he was sure she wasn’t looking at him.

Ae’lia would have laughed at it, were it not for what Ahsoka said. “What’s happened on Lothal?” Were Adlai and Hal—Skye okay? She didn’t know if Ahsoka would say anything relating to that just now, but Ae’lia hoped for more answers than that. They knew there was a problem on Lothal.

She had thought Adlai and Skye were capable of handling it.

Before Ahsoka could answer, Merrin was returning with a red tunic-dress, and black leggings, with a belt for the tunic. She offered them out to Ae’lia, who accepted them readily enough, even if it seemed like she would be wearing the Inquisitor attire a while longer. “Thank you.”

Merrin smiled, and shook her head, “I want the belt back. Next time we meet.”

Ae’lia chuckled, but nodded, “Of course,” she’d find a way to keep that safe, even if it might be a while before she met with the Mantis crew again. Though the coloring of the attire was off, it looked more like something she would have worn ages ago. She couldn’t help but wonder if Merrin’s style had adapted from being with two Jedi, or if this had always been her way.

 

[cleopat]

Skye didn’t add in any additional thoughts to the idea right then. There wasn’t much more to consider until they returned to the rest of the crew and could actually plan something out with everyone’s voice involved.

They hurried back to the Ghost, and once everyone was inside, Ezra did not hesitate to ask them, “So? What did you find out? Where’s Kanan?”

With a heavy sigh, Skye removed her helmet, no longer hiding her grim expression. “They’re leaving within the hour to take him to Mustafar.”

A soft gasp sounded from Hera. “Are you sure?” Skye could only nod, not trusting her voice in the moment.

“Wait, what? What’s bad about Mustafar?” Ezra asked, as he, like Sabine, hadn’t heard of the planet before.

Hera answered before Skye could, “Kanan mentioned the planet to me once before. He said it’s the place where Jedi go to die.”

~~~

Cora received a response from Faro a few seconds after she returned to her quarters, but it was not a message she hoped to receive. She wanted Faro there damn it! Still, she knew the importance of Faro’s job, but at least the other woman seemed to have enough time to shoot back a message.

I’m meeting Eli tonight in his quarters to watch a movie. Is this considered a date? Should I wear something nice or casual?​

She had other questions as well, but Cora didn’t want to bombard Faro with so much at once. She didn’t want to appear like she was totally freaking out.

It was just Eli. In his room. Watching a move. Nothing too complicated, right? And yet too many questions floated in her thoughts.

~~~

It may be easier to shoot the rebels if one could see them, assuming they weren’t just as cunning as their opponent. Many in the Empire tend to underestimate the rebels, but Thrawn knew how skilled and tactical they could be. He saw it on Batonn.

He saw it on Corellia.

But it wasn’t a point to bring up with Tarkin. The man surely knew this, but still thought they would be easy to squash with the might of the Empire. If they weren’t careful, they would need to prepare to expect anything.

“Very well, Governor,” Thrawn said with a nod. “I will have more information to give you then.” He hoped. “I will speak to you then.” He had half a mind to add in Good luck in your endeavours on Lothal, but decided against it.

He would hear soon enough if Lothal was a success or not.

~~~

Ahsoka shook her head at Ae’lia all while glaring down at the baby, playfully, when he tried to grab a lek again. Not there. Some information still needed to be kept secret from the others, as she didn’t know if Mantis was all for joining the rebels or not.

Even if two of them were from the Jedi Order, some things were better left unsaid.

The baby laughed at Ahsoka, even as she pulled his hand away, and couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on her face from the child’s antics. Oh to be a cute and small creature and get away with anything by a simple laugh.

Cal returned soon after Merrin with his own tunic and dark pants, along with a belt to keep the pants from falling. Lin accepted them with a grateful nod, “Thank you.”

Cal smiled, and then chuckled as he heard Merrin wanting the belt back. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to give any of that back.” Those clothes were replaceable, and there was no telling when they would all meet again.

“Thank you for that, because I may just lose them before we meet again,” Lin chuckled.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘When you know a Jedi, you know about Mustafar.’ Adlai didn’t say that. For all intents and purposes, no one there needed to know that he knew any Jedi just then, especially given he knew two.

“He,” Sabine still thumbed back to Adlai, “said the same thing,” Sabine apparently thought it was odd enough to bring up.

Adlai would ignore that, “Skye thinks we ought to try and steal an Imperial transport as a way to get into Tarkin’s ship,” he said, “I think it could work, and then we’d have the Ghost prepared for pick-up, assuming we need it,” it was far better than flying the Ghost into a hangar, at any rate. “If we three keep in our disguises,” again, disregarding Ezra, “We may be able to find him and get him out, before there’s too much trouble. Say, ah, prisoner transport for a bit,” Adlai said, as if he’d done it before.

He had.

That didn’t make it less terrifying, but he was resolved not to show that.

~***~

Faro tried not to laugh at the Bridge. She did chuckle, and a few looked towards her, but she shook her head to shake it off for now, and just smiled as she typed a message back to Cora.

Given the new-ness of this relationship of yours, I think this qualifies as a date. But casual-nice.​

Faro hoped that made some sense.

Imagine how you’d feel if Eli showed up too casual to your quarters for a holofilm, today.​

Faro figured that would give Cora some insight into how she ought to dress. Obviously, this wasn’t an out-in-public event, but this was still trying to show each other that the other person mattered. Usually, a part of that was dressing up – or at least looking nice.

This wasn’t the time to break out the sweatpants and overlarge shirts.

~***~

Ae’lia frowned as Ahsoka shook her head. So far as she knew, the Mantis crew was joining – they’d more or less agreed on the ship. Still, she supposed Ahsoka may want more information and more time to feel them out, before she started to speak of other missions.

So Ae’lia would just have to wait until they were somewhere in private.

“Thank you, for helping us out with this,” Cere said, once clothes had been given over to their helpers. “We won’t ask where you’re going to take him – it’s better that we don’t know.”

Merrin nodded. As much as she wanted to know, and stay near the baby, she knew it was best to have no idea, that way she couldn’t put the child at risk if she was ever captured. She just had to hope that one day, they’d see each other again.

 

[cleopat]

Skye nodded along with what Adlai told the crew. She had already thought the idea was a good one, and hearing it out loud, coming from Adlai, pleased her.

Ezra, too, liked the idea, until it was mentioned that only the three in disguise would be going on the ship to rescue Kanan. Even if it was the most logical decision, he wanted to be on Tarkin’s ship to help rescue Kanan. He had every right! “And I’m going with you.”

“No, we need to be as discreet as possible, and-” Skye started, but Ezra cut her off.

“And what if you run into the Inquisitor? He’ll know you’re not really Troopers. You need my help.”

Skye paused. I could take care of him. She hoped. But she didn’t say anything about that, not when his last sentence caught her attention. Her brows furrowed as she said, “How are you going to help-” Skye stopped and realization dawned on her face. It made sense, and that feeling from earlier, of another Force user on the planet, came from him.

“You’re Kanan’s padawan, aren’t you?” She asked before she could even think to stop herself.

~~~

Faro confirmed that it was, in fact, a date, which did nothing for Cora’s nerves. How nice should I look? Fortunately, Faro already answered that in her message back to Cora.

Casual-nice. Yeah, she understood what Faro meant by that. But, were their definitions of casual-nice different? Would Eli think she was dressed too casual or too nice? Cora groaned, hating the fact that she was overthinking every little thing.

At least her last sentence helped put things in better perspective. Although she wouldn’t mind if Eli showed up in something comfy, she supposed that a first time get-together warranted something...less casual.

Okay, yeah, all of that makes sense. Not too casual, not too nice.​

Which, to her, was still pretty broad, so Cora added on,

If your shift ends before our date, could you still come by? I am still overthinking everything.​

Might as well just admit it, maybe for some pity points. Or entertainment for Faro. Cora didn’t know.

~~~

Ahsoka nodded at Merrin. “If the Empire is after him, then the less anyone knows, the better.” There wasn’t even a guarantee the place she had in mind would work out, and that she would have to find somewhere else. But, the less they knew, the better for the baby’s safety.

Even if he continued to giggle at Ahsoka’s slight frustration whenever he made an attempt to grab a lek.

Cal walked closer to Ahsoka and gestured at the baby. “Do you mind if I say a quick goodbye? I have to admit I’m gonna miss him.” Ahsoka’s expression softened, and she held out the baby for Cal, who carefully took hold of the bundle.

“I know you’re not going to remember any of this,” Cal started, and the baby cocked his head slightly, “but I think it’s safe to say we’re all going to miss you and the trouble you brought us.” He chuckled, and the Child tried to mimic the pleasing sound.

Cal laughed before he looked back at his other crewmates. “Anyone else wanna say a quick goodbye?” Or, rather, a ‘see you later.’ He had to hope they would see the baby again.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai wondered if Skye’s comment would be considered strange at all to them. Thankfully, at least to Sabine, it was bypassed with her agreement and a deep sigh, “Yeah, he is – he can help,” even if they wanted him safe, “The rest of us can’t use the Force.”

“What about me?” Zeb grumbled. “Can’t you bring me along somehow, too? I’m the muscle here!”

Adlai considered, wanting to argue that it really wasn’t a good idea, but he had transported people who didn’t belong in places before, “We could take you in, in binders. Escorting you to cells might be a believable bluff to get near the cells, in general….” Was that too many people, though? That would leave Hera alone on the ship.

They obviously had to take Chopper. Chopper could help open doors that might be locked, after all.

~***~

Faro tried not to roll her eyes at Cora’s desperate need for help. And she thought she was the useless one! ‘Well, Cora does actually have a date, and you….’ Well, she had no hope with Eira, did she? Or that nice girl back at the gallery who she didn’t think she ever got the name of. Faro just sighed.

She supposed her lot was to be the single person who somehow helped with relationships.

When is your date?​

That would help her determine if she’d be able to meet with her before her shifted ended, or perhaps during one of her breaks. She resisted the urge to add that messaging her was not helping her look come together.

Time was ticking.

~***~

The burbling baby may forget them, but the group knew, they wouldn’t soon be forgetting this guy. Cere nodded at Cal’s inquiry and came forward, reaching out for the baby, “Hey, I appreciate what you did for me, little guy,” she said. If for that reason alone, she wouldn’t soon forget him, and she did glance up to Ahsoka to say, “He can heal. Already, he can heal wounds with the Force.”

She’d taken quite the blow from First Sister. She wouldn’t add in that, or that First Sister was dead.

Ahsoka probably knew already, and even if she didn’t, discussing Inquisitors was never a fun topic.

Merrin came forward and silently gestured, and so Cere again allowed the shift, though Merrin shook her head. She didn’t want to hold the child, and as she leaned down a bit, she caught the child’s eye with the green fire of Dathomir. It let out an ‘ooooo’ sound as it watched the flame dancing across its vision, “If you remember nothing else, remember this. Remember Dathomir. We will help you. Even the dead still have power.”

“That’s not creepy at all to tell a baby,” Cere said sarcastically, and Merrin just huffed…but stuck out her tongue, mostly for the baby, who burbled with glee again at what it somehow knew for a childish action.

Or guessed.

 

[cleopat]

The rest may have disregarded Skye’s comment as nothing strange, but Ezra looked at her for a moment longer, brows scrunched slightly as he contemplated what his instinct was trying to tell him about her.

Maybe it was nothing. Or maybe it was that same strange sensation he felt the same day he met Kanan.

“This feels risky. Having too many of us on Tarkin’s ship can only end in disaster,” Hera said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But I think it could work,” Skye chimed in. “While myself, Adlai, and Zeb go to the cells, maybe Sabine and Ezra can provide a distraction.”

“We have a TIE fighter,” Ezra said nonchalantly, as if that was the distraction they needed. Which it very well could be.

Hera heaved a heavy sigh. “I asked them to pick up meilooruns, and they come back with a TIE fighter.” Skye couldn’t help but to chuckle at that. She definitely liked this group.

~~~

Cora had started going through her closet, grabbing a few clothing items she felt fit the description of nice but casual. Maybe some black slacks, and a green sweater? It was comfortable, but it looked decent.

At the ping of her datapad, she placed the clothing items on her bed before answering Faro.

At 19:00​

Still a few hours, and Cora simultaneously wanted that time to be now and for it to be further away.

Why am I acting like such a lovestruck teenager? It was only Eli, someone she had already both danced and sparred with. She thought any nerves would have already disappeared.

~~~

Ahsoka raised her brows in surprise. The baby could Force heal? Not many Jedi could do that. It was an extremely rare ability, and somehow, this baby already knew how to do it? No wonder he was highly wanted. She glanced at Ae’lia, silently asking for confirmation, even if the answer was already clear.

Cal chuckled at Merrin’s farewells, even if he agreed that the words were a bit creepy. That was just Merrin. Lin didn’t quite know what to think, still slightly terrified of the Dathomir witch.

Greez shook his head with a smile, and he too approached the Child. With a gesture, he indicated for Cere to keep holding him. “I’m gonna miss having another green little alien around the ship,” he chuckled. The baby burbled, and Greez pretended that he agreed. Maybe he did, who knows.

“It was nice meeting all of you,” Ahsoka spoke up. “I, or someone else, will be in touch with you very soon concerning the Rebel Alliance.” With nothing or no one else nearby to overhear, she didn’t speak in riddles or hide any words. They could speak freely out there, a rare chance to do so.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai had a feeling that Shay would understand Hera’s exasperation only too well. It didn’t stop him from chuckling, even if his expression under the helmet was sympathetic. “I suppose a rogue TIE fighter might help, but we don’t want you getting shot out of the sky, or locked up yourselves,” he said.

“I’m with the adults on this one,” Zeb said, “might be best to enter together, and you can figure a distraction once we’re on-board.”

“There’s reason enough – even if Skye and myself can manage Zeb, our transport needs pilots, right?” Adlai suggested, as rational for how they would all go on there together.

Sabine pouted, “But wouldn’t it be better to have a distraction away from the transport so we might be able to use it to get out?”

~***~

Faro took note of the time. She would, indeed, be off before then, and she sent back.

I’m off at 17:00. I can swing by before. ​

Hopefully, that would help to calm Cora. Hopefully, she wouldn’t also be swamped with tasks herself.

That wasn’t to be exactly her luck, as before her shift ended, she was already starting to hear from Eli the same types of questions that Cora asked, and more – like snack questions. Did she know what snacks Cora preferred?

Faro figured she could do some snooping while she was there with Cora.

She barely made it through the shift without spilling the details to the others of the Bridge crew.

~***~

Ae’lia gave a nod, confirming what the baby was capable of already. It wasn’t something she’d learned to do, though now she certainly wanted to figure out how to go about it. That could be useful.

She couldn’t really have a baby teach her, though.

Unfortunately.

“Wait, we should exchange information, in case,” Cere added, and Ae’lia nodded, approaching to offer her datapad so Cere could input her information, as she took Cere’s.

“I’ll make sure this gets to others,” Ae’lia said, knowing she would likely end up deleting it from her own, just to keep her trail covered.

With that situated, Cere adjusted the baby, and offered him back to Ae’lia.

“It’s good to see you both. Really,” Cere added, certain they would understand, even if they’d left the Order. There was still something…special to seeing survivors. “We’ll help out where we can.”

Merrin nodded, and punched her fist into her opposite hand. “We’re going to bring it down.”

 

[cleopat]

Skye smirked at Sabine’s idea. “She does have a point. And what if something goes wrong? We do need to consider that possibility of something going wrong, and we’ll need a big distraction to be able to get out of there.”

It wasn’t something she wanted to think about, but with all of them, minus Hera if she were to still pilot the Ghost to help them escape faster, aboard Tarkin’s ship? With a Grand Inquisitor? They had to think of the possibilities.

“And how are we going to do that with a TIE fighter without getting anyone here killed?” Hera asked, moving her hands to rest them on her hips.

Skye wanted to suggest she could pilot it. She could fly just about anything, after all, and she’s trained in tricky and evasive maneuvering, thanks to its necessity in the Clone Wars. But that would lead to more questions she didn’t want to answer.

“We can always create the distraction once on the ship and bring attention away from the transport, once we have Kanan,” Ezra said with a shrug. What kind of distraction though? He wasn’t sure. Detonators? Grenades? Have Chopper splice the security system?

~~

Cora sighed at Faro’s answer, happy to see her friend and to have some sense knocked into her. Cora knew she was overreacting, but it didn’t mean she could help it.

Thank you. You can come on in when you get here.​

She would remember to unlock the door around the time Faro was getting off, allowing the other woman to walk on in while Cora stared into her closet.

Fortunately, the entirety of her clothes weren’t strewn out onto the bed, just the same slacks and sweater from before. Still, was something else better? She would have to wait and see what Faro said.

~~~

Cal laughed at Merrin’s action, and he nodded. “Yes, we’ll do anything we can to help. I mean, we’ve already infiltrated the Inquisitorius Headquarters once before, I’m sure once we have all these cells organized, bringing the Empire down will be a domino effect.”

Ahsoka raised her brows in mild surprise at the mention of the Inquisitorius, but she didn’t comment on that. Maybe something to look up later.

“And it was good to see you as well,” she said with a small smile, nodding at Cere and Cal, no one she had ever met during her time in the Jedi Order, but now they were all they had left. They had to stick together. “And may the Force be with you.”

Cal nodded, “May the Force be with you.”

“Good luck out there, guys,” Lin said with a wave of his hand, after which he would begin to go into Ahsoka’s ship with his new clothes. He still remembered how she mentioned there was trouble on Lothal, so they shouldn’t linger too long on Retta.

He hoped Adlai and Skye, as well as the Ghost crew, were doing alright.

 

[Lucyfer]

“See? We don’t need the TIE for that.” Adlai said. “We can all take the transport and then split up to create a distraction.” Even if Skye wanted the TIE, he didn’t think that was the greatest idea they had.

“We can still use the TIE!” Sabine said, “What if everyone on the transport is immediately arrested? If we have a TIE and just fly in, then we have another ship, and another group.”

“But that’d only be one person,” Adlai pointed out.

“Better than none! And the TIE can fit more.”

“Yeah, but,” Zeb interrupted, “they’re not supposed to – you’d be suspicious if two people stepped out of a TIE.”

Sabine frowned, but sighed, “You’re right, you’re right. Okay. One person in the TIE.” She was dead-set on bringing the TIE.

~***~

Karyn Faro was sending off a message to Eli right before entering Cora’s room, where she found clothing strewn about on the bed. Not as much as she knew Cora had, really just one thing, but it still made her chuckle as she saw it, “What, no cozy dress or skirt?” She supposed that might be a bit much, but she knew she could mess with Cora a little bit.

She did assess the attire. It looked cozy, and she imagined it also looked nice.

Still, she opted to ask, “What do you usually wear those clothes to do?” She gestured to the sweater and slacks, wondering if they were ever clothing used for anything special, or if they were just kind of randomly nice casual clothing.

~***~

Ae’lia had already known about the Inquisitorius thing – one of those things which had put the Mantis crew on their radar some time ago, although they had never reached out to other Rebel cells to actually join together. Just to occasionally help. They’d never found a way to reach the Mantis before now.

“May the Force be with you,” she echoed the sentiment, stepping back towards Ahsoka’s ship with the baby and clothing balanced in her arms.

She probably wouldn’t be changing out of her armor, though, if they had to go to Lothal.

She couldn’t risk anyone recognizing her.

‘Blockade runner.’ Ae’lia thought as she stepped into the ship. It had been a type she’d considered for her own personal craft, before going another route.

Once they were in the ship, and the ramp was up, Ae’lia set her clothing aside on the nearest surface and asked, “What is going on – no – what is going on with Lothal?” The child had, naturally, tried to reach for the belt as Ae’lia set it aside, and Ae’lia had to stop him, briefly.