Preparation to head out to Alpha Base hit a snag when I realized that Miru had taken the Chariot out to the security checkpoint in deep space. That was her prerogative, I had gifted her the ship to do with as she pleased, but it left me without a small-scale starship to travel on. It ultimately didn't matter, however, as when I started to poke around for a freighter, or to see if the Starcaller was free, Tatnia got my attention with a comms call.

  "You need to travel with the full 1st Fleet," she said, refusing to beat around the bush. "Not only does it mean that you have support if something bad happens, but showing up on some tiny freighter diminishes your impact. The fleet is a statement that you are not someone to be pushed to the side. Take the whole fleet."

  "That’s an awful lot of fuel for just a meeting," I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

  Her holoprojection looked at me with a slightly disappointed frown.

  "I shouldn't have to remind you of this, Deacon. It is not just a meeting," she responded, shaking her head. "It is the leader of a large faction meeting with members of a tentative ally. At this point, we have the strength comparable to a noticeable percentage of theirs. You need to act like it, and that means showing up with a fleet."

  I frowned and leaned back in my chair. Her words rang true, and now that she was saying them, I realized I should have probably come to a similar conclusion. The fleet felt like overkill, but that was because, despite being the leader of the Skyforged, I was never one to overstate my presence. But the fact of the matter was that I represented a substantial faction, not to mention a growing colony city. I needed to have a presence, I needed to make an impact.

  "Yeah. Alright, that's fair," I finally admitted, letting out an aggressive sigh. "We can wait a few days for the Loyal Hound and the Liberty Rush to return, then we can leave. I feel kinda bad for taking away their downtime, but…"

  "They will have plenty of it on board during their hyperspace trip," Tatnia pointed out. "It's not like we were coming back from a battle or anything."

  I nodded in reluctant agreement before saying my goodbyes and turning off the comms. After a moment of consideration, I tapped on my comms again, pulling up the appropriate info. If I was going to be traveling with my fleet, then I needed to make sure my people knew that.

  A day and a half later, Corvak arrived back home on the Loyal Hound, alongside the Liberty Rush. Our second new station had safely made it to the security checkpoint, before they made the trip back. I gave the crew the rest of the day to enjoy being back home and being on the planet before we had to leave again. I got a very unhappy message from Noori, Corvak's wife, about whisking her husband away again just after he returned home, but after apologizing and explaining the circumstances, she calmed down.

  I later learned that she had calmed down because, upon hearing that it was a diplomatic mission, she joined us on the trip, something I was not happy to discover.

  When we finally left, we left on board the Hope, the flagship of our fleet. Thankfully, the trip to Alpha Base was relatively short, especially compared to our recent painfully long trip alongside our new large-scale shipyard. I spent most of my time preparing for the meeting ahead, though I honestly didn't anticipate any significant challenges. The worst they could do at this point was deny our offer to work together, or blatantly try to trick us.

  When we finally arrived, my team and I boarded the Brick, which we rode down to the surface. We were escorted by the Loyal Hound and the Storms Edge, both of which were our smaller ships, making it easier for us to land them on the surface.

  Meanwhile, the Hope, Liberty Rush, and the Triumph of Fives stayed in orbit above the planet, the sizable Rebel defensive fleet staying a reasonable distance away. It was a decent grouping of ships, and considering the Rebellion's tendency towards starfighters, there were likely even more dangerous than it appeared.

  Once we established we were who we said we were, using the codes sent to us by General Syndulla when I first notified them that I needed to talk, we descended into the atmosphere. When we landed, the much smaller Brick sitting between our larger escorts, it didn't take long for Luke, Leia, and General Syndulla to come out and greet us.

  "Admiral Deacon, it is good to see you," General Syndulla said, stepping forward to shake my hand as I stepped down out of the transport.

  "It's good to see you as well," I said with a nod, before gesturing behind me. "I'm sure you recognize my second in command, as well as Corvak Syr, one of my advisers. And you already know Ashoka."

  Tatnia, Ahsoka, and Corvak were all in their basic uniforms, while the rest of my crew were armored up as my escorts. Corvak had his beskad on his hip, and my sword was clipped to mine as well.

  After the more stiff introductions were over, I pulled Luke into a hug, patting him on his back.

  "It's been a while," I said as we pulled apart. "Have they been keeping you busy?"

  "Yeah, it's been a busy couple of months," He admitted. "And… I didn't want to intrude too much, not without a reason."

  I frowned and punched him in the shoulder, just enough for him to wince.

  "Luke, you are always welcome in our home," I said, shaking my head. "You helped us find Nirn, and your people are living there. It's as much your home as it is ours. Please, visit when you can, learn from your fellow Jedi, and don't let them work you to the bone. You may be… a big deal around here, but you don't owe them every second of the day."

  I stopped turning slightly to look at Leia.

  "I'm sure I could remind you of that last bit as well," I pointed out with a smile. "You are always welcome at Nirn as well, as are Han and Chewie."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "I appreciate the open invitation," Leia said, before looking past me to Luke. "And I will make sure that Luke makes it out to see you more often. He has been working himself too hard."

  I frowned and took a closer look at Luke, and instantly did not like what I saw. It was subtle, small things like the slight darkening under his eyes, a slightly more gaunt look to him, his skin just a hair shade too pale. Leia might not have noticed since they interacted much more frequently, but I could see Luke was starting to struggle.

  He needed help, and there was no fucking way I was leaving this planet until he got it.

  We were led inside and taken through the base, ending up in a familiar meeting room. Tatnia, Corvak, Ahsoka, and I sat down, as did Luke, Leia, and Hera. After a moment, the holoprojection of Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar appeared as well.

  "Greetings, Admiral," Mon Motham greeted, nodding her head in a shallow bow. "I apologize that we weren't able to receive you ourselves.

  "I understand, this meeting doesn't require that sort of attention," I assured her. "This is partly an announcement, as well as an offer. As of now, the Skyforged Vanguard will be taking a more active role in the fight against the Empire. We are no longer restricting ourselves to just targets we can make a profit from."

  "Thats fantastic news," Admiral Ackbar said, beating out his compatriots. "The Skyforged Vanguard has proven again and again that they are a capable fighting force. It is good to hear you will be engaging the Imperials more directly."

  "Thank you, Admiral Ackbar," I said, genuinely taken aback by the compliment. The admiral was a legendary leader, a brilliant strategist, and one of my favorite characters in the universe.

  "That is indeed good news," Mon Mothma added. "And we are glad to hear it. How will this affect our relationship?"

  "First, understand that not all our missions will suddenly be focused on Imperial Forces. The Skyforged Vanguard relies on the funding we receive through competing bounties and reselling seized ships and assets. Not only that, but pulling out from our efforts to fight pirates, raiders, and slavers in the Mid and Outer Rims is not an option," I explained seriously, looking at all of the Rebels closely. "However, it does lead us to our second part, the offer. We will be significantly more open to working with the Rebellion, pro bono."

  "Our forces would be happy to work with you and your people," Admiral Ackbar responded. "And calling in aid will be significantly easier to justify."

  "I'm glad to hear that," I said with a nod. "However, I do need to put out a warning. If we find you taking advantage of our specialties and using our pro bono work to steal ships or other assets we would usually charge you for, this partnership will end very quickly. We are attempting to fight against the Empire more directly, not let ourselves be taken advantage of."

  The three rebel leaders on the other side of the table frowned to various degrees, looking at each other for a moment. Luke frowned as well, but I got the feeling that he was frowning in an understanding way, that he was worried that his superiors would try to take advantage of me.

  "I understand that you have a responsibility to your people," Mon Mothma responded after silently communicating with her comrades for a moment. "And I acknowledge that we have had some rough moments between our groups. But if working with us requires such a large caveat, why come work with us at all? And how are we to predict the results of our missions? Are our mission leads going to need to choose between keeping you as allies and the opportunity to requisition imperial assets?"

  I let out a long breath, running her words through my head. While my first instinct was to call her out, I had to admit she did somewhat have a point. If we were going to try and work with the Rebellion again, then having them constantly worry about annoying us was the wrong foot to step out on.

  "What happens on a mission is not my concern," I responded after a longer moment. "Asking us to help on a mission specifically set for asset seizure is what I'm concerned about. You would be asking us to cut out a source of credits we depend on. Now, if you have a target and are willing to share the profits or assets, that's something we can discuss on a case-by-case basis."

  "The bottom line is that we are asking you to treat us fairly, without trying to wring us out for extra benefits," Ahsoka added. "This is an opportunity for us to work together, to aid each other and reforge the relationship we had prior to our difficulties."

  I nodded to Ahsoka, glad she chimed in when she did.

  For a moment, I watched as they shared another series of looks, slightly worried that we were about to witness the last bridge burning between us. Thankfully, Mon Mothma still seemed to have some sense left in her head.

  "Then we must take this opportunity seriously," she said with a nod. "We have long regretted the errors made that resulted in our strained relationship."

  "I agree," Admiral Ackbar said with a nod. "Regardless of anything else, we must stand beside the like-minded people who oppose the Empire. After all, the school has strength a lone predator does not."

  "I would like to volunteer to work closer with the Skyforged Vanguard," General Syndulla said. "We run a significant amount of missions from Alpha Base, there is plenty they can help with, and I believe we already have a report that will make communicating from a position of trust easier."

  "And I will take a personal interest in making sure General Syndulla isn't pushed into putting up missions that fall outside what you're willing to do," Leia added with a nod. "With my backing, she should have no trouble denying any requests that you be brought in on missions in…less than honest implications."

  "She will have my backing as well, though I will be too busy to personally intervene," Admiral Ackbar stated, turning towards Hela and nodding. "Use my name should anyone attempt to push for unsavory tactics."

  "I… Thank you, I appreciate the seriousness with which you've taken this attempt," I said after a moment, giving them a nodding bow. "I do look forward to working with you."

  The others smiled, and for a moment, they prepared to end the meeting. Before they could, however, I spoke up again.

  "In the name of working together, perhaps I could make a request," I said, getting everyone's attention, including my own people, since I was basically going off script. "The Rebellion is known for leveraging its starfighters to fight targets far larger than most would think possible. Would it be possible for a group of your skilled pilots to come and talk to ours, sharing tips on fighting Imperials? They could consider a sort of working leave, and I would happily compensate them for their time with some gear I know they would appreciate."

  Mon Mothma seemed a bit confused, as did Admiral Ackbar and General Syndulla. Leia, on the other hand, looked as if she had quickly caught on, a small conspiratorial smile growing on her face.

  Luke just rolled his eyes, though he still smiled.

  "A full squadron of famous Rebels, helping our people better prepare for a fight against the Imperials… a squadron like Rogue Squadron, perhaps?" I suggested. "I promise it will be well worth their time."

  "Rogue Squadron is one of our most critical assets," Mon Mothma said with a frown. "I do not know if we can afford to let them go for that long."

  "I believe they may be due for an extended break," General Syndulla put in, before I could respond. "They have certainly earned it."

  "Consider it an outreach mission, helping connect our people together," I added. "A diplomatic mission, if you will."

  "... I don't see why Rogue Squadron shouldn't be allowed to take a break," Admiral Ackbar finally said. "They must bring their ships with them in case they need to leave quickly, but other than that..."

  We spent about fifteen minutes discussing some of the particulars of the "deal" before the meeting was eventually adjourned. Luke gave me a hug and a slap to the back before leaving to round up his people. I took a moment to invite Leia as well, but she declined, stating she was already scheduled for a separate diplomatic mission to a potential ally.

  After that, I returned to our ships to wait, riding our shuttle up to the Hope, waiting for Luke and his pilots to arrive.