After warming up and having something to eat at the Starcaller, Agent Yuca and Ahsoka discussed their plans with Vaz, who had remained on the Starcaller as a sort of trap. With the doors open and the proverbial keys in the ignition, Vas was waiting on the off chance Commander Gadic tried to run. Since the station's own ships were clearly guarded by commando droids, the Starcaller was a purposeful, tempting target.

  When they finished filling Vaz in on their progress, the two investigators made their way out of the ship and towards the security office, once again leaving the ship open and tempting. This time, both of the warm-blooded humanoids were wearing a few more layers, with Ahsoka wearing her temperature-controlled undersuit for her armor, with some light clothing over it for modesty's sake. Agent Yuca borrowed a heavier jacket and pants from the ship's stores, wearing them both tightly and covering the Starforged symbol on it. Ahsoka was now toasty warm, while Agent Yuca was no longer suffering from the temperature.

  When they arrived at security, they found it a bit more active than it had been before, with Commander Recito standing by with his arms crossed and a pair of Rebels kneeling beside their astromech slicer. They were attempting to get inside the droid's chassis but were utterly failing to breach even the thin beskar plating that the vital droids were covered in. When the astromech spotted the new arrivals, it whistled and beeped, making an almost bored sound with their attempts.

  "Commander Recito, is there a problem?" Ahsoka asked, in a tone that demanded attention.

  "Yes, in fact, there is. Your droid here was done reviewing our security records and began slicing into our database," He said, frustration clear in his voice. "It was accessing our docking and supply records. That is highly sensitive information that contains logs on all the cells that come to us for supplies, as well as the ones that deliver them."

  "And?" Ahsoka asked, the commander looking surprised at her response. "Did we give you the impression we would only be investigating half of what was going on here? And what do you think gives you the right to start prying at the droid we brought with us?"

  "We… we have to protect the cells that depend on us and the soldiers who help keep us supplied," The leader explained with a frown. "We can't do that with your droids slicing and revealing the locations and names."

  "Commander Recito, need I remind you who exactly gave us the authority to do all of this?" Agent Yuca asked rhetorically. "Not only was Princess Leia speaking with the authority of Mon Mothma, but General Dodanna, Sydulla, and Draven all charged us to investigate this issue."

  Commander Recito began to shrink a bit as Agent Yuca got her steamrolling. The intelligence office was doing a great job of keeping their story going while assuring the man that they did, in fact, have the proper authority.

  "You read our security codes, did they say anything about only getting access to certain amounts of data?" the agent continued. "Did they say anything about taking matters into your hands when you thought we had gone too far?"

  The commander was silent now, standing at partial attention, seemingly by instinct, his hands behind his back. The two kneeling by the droid seemed to have gotten the memo as well, as they had both scrambled to their feet and settled in at attention.

  "The droid would not have had to slice anything if he had been given the access we requested," Ahsoka pointed out, giving the commander a focused look. "I suggest you correct that mistake so that it can continue its task uninterrupted."

  "...Very well," Commander Recito confirmed with a stiff nod before looking to one of the technicians, who quickly got to work on the console system that the astromech had been working on.

  It took a few minutes to set it up, but soon, the astromech was back at it, scanning files and compiling records that the two investigating women would go over when it was done. Eventually, after a few minutes, Commander Recito left, leaving a technician behind to answer our questions. Ahsoka watched him leave, waving away Agent Yuca as she opened her mouth to speak.

  "He is only trying to do his job," Ahsoka explained, letting out a long breath. "This is the cost of the many-cell system, the cells don't always line up, and even if they do, sometimes there are miscommunications. It was logical to him that the information we would have access to wouldn't include the most dangerous data they have here. After all, it could be used to attack everyone they supply and those that keep them supplied. We expected one thing, and because this cell is different from others, there was a miscommunication."

  "How did he… feel about that?" Agent Yuca asked, her tone leading as she referenced the Force without mentioning it. "How did he feel after?"

  "Worried, as he truly wants to protect the information, as it is very sensitive," Ahsoka explained with a frown. "He was also frustrated for being strong-armed in front of subordinates."

  Ahsoka gestured around the room to the five other people working around them, all of them very specifically not looking their way. Most of them tensed when she mentioned getting shown up in front of the people he was meant to be in charge of.

  It took about another hour for the astromech to complete its task of scanning and compiling. Once it was done, all three of them left the security room to find somewhere more private, eventually finding a small conference room that was actually heated.

  With no one around to interrupt or overhear them, Ahsoka and Agent Yuca sat down and began to go over the data that the astromech had found and collated. It was a thorough composition of what the droid tagged as important, dating back two days before Commander Gadic even knew about the mission. The report quickly confirmed that no comms had gone out and that the freighter records confirmed that no hyperwave messages were sent as well. Even worse, the sensors hadn't picked up any extra signals, originating from the base or not.

  "If he didn't send a message through technological means," Agent Yuca said quietly, putting down the datapad she had been reading from. "Then that just leaves physical means. Could he have ejected something? A physical container perhaps that someone picked up at a distance?"

  "In an asteroid field?" Ahsoka responded, raising an eyebrow. "They would have better luck shouting messages through the vacuum. At least then they might be able to read his lips."

  "Then he has a conspirator," The Kal Dor woman settled on, leaning back in her chair. "Someone who passed on the information for him."

  "Most likely," Ahsoka agreed, crossing her arms and chewing the inside of her cheek. "But why? He was genuinely offended when I suggested he was stealing from the Rebellion. He is loyal, in his own way... why sell the mission out?"

  "Because... the Rebellion was never the target," the agent pointed out. "Not to him. The Skyforged Vanguard was. He knew the plan, knew your team would be heading in first…"

  "I mean, yes, that is the obvious point. But at such a risk? With a difference of just a few minutes, that entire Rebel fleet would have been trapped," Ahsoka countered with a frown. "He… didn't feel capable of that. He wouldn't have been willing to risk that loss, just to get rid of us."

  "Why does he want you gone in the first place?"

  "That's easy. He sees the Skyforged Vanguard as a threat, not an ally," Ahsoka explained, shaking her head. "When I left to join, he saw it as a betrayal, I could feel it. And with Deacon at the helm, we have grown drastically and rescued dozens of my brothers and sisters. To him, it would seem like we were stealing resources and people from the Rebellion, especially with these CIS missions."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "So he assumes if the head of the Vanguard was destroyed, the rest would fall in line with the Rebellion?" the agent asked, sounding baffled. "That is ridiculous. Our data says the Skyforged is too mercenary-focused to simply fall in line."

  "You're not incorrect," Ahsoka admitted with a smirk. "The Skyforged would likely simply break up into groups. It's also possible that the ship captains would form a council of sorts. Clan Syr might also make a play, but if my judgment of Corvak is correct, he would do his best to run the group as Deacon has, rather than turn it into a Mandalorian clan or something similar."

  Agent Yuca filed the information away in her head, Ahsoka perfectly aware of what she was saying and who she was saying it to. The Rebel Alliance needed to understand that the Skyforged was not a minor group anymore, and that picking off the leader or even the entire leading group would not destroy them.

  Sure, the group would inevitably have to adapt. Deacon had a unique style of leadership, to say the least, so removing him from the equation would inevitably lead to change…

  "What if the plan changed by Gadic's messenger?" Ahsoka said, her thought sticking for a moment before an interesting thought popped in. "Gadic knew the mission plan, knew that once we arrived, the mission would likely take some time. We were infiltrating in disguise, so we couldn't rush. If he doctored the information he passed on, said that we were just scouting, quickly popping in and out…"

  "The window of attack would have been much smaller," Agent Yuca agreed, nodding along. "The Imperials would have had to attack the second you appeared."

  "The risk to the Rebel fleet would have been considerably smaller, almost non-existent, since we weren't going to call them in until everything was ready."

  "Then why change the message at all?" Agent Yuca asked. "The plan was less risky and would have worked, hypothetically. Why change it?"

  For a moment, Ahsoka had no answer. Then, she happened to look down as she fiddled with her datapad. The data she had been idly looking at was gone, having scrolled away while she was talking and not paying attention, by the will of the Force.

  "Because…for them, it wasn't about resources or bringing back the Jedi to the Rebellion," Ahsoka said with a growing smirk. "It was about revenge."

  On the screen were names and dates, the list of incoming and outgoing Rebels groups, both those coming for supplies and those dropping them off. As Yuca peered at it, Ahsoka tapped the screen, her finger pointing to a single name.

  Nevue Loc.

  "Nevue was the one who brought the Skyforged to the Rebellion in the first place, before I joined up," Ahsoka explained. "After they escaped Nar Shaddaa, Nevue was basically their point of contact, their handler. He was promoted and given his own team, making a name for himself in the process. Unfortunately, he took advantage of the Skyforged several times to do that, cutting them terrible deals and taking advantage of Deacon's goodwill, all while using it to make himself look good in the process. When one of his team members blew the whistle on him, he was demoted down to a private, stripped of his position, and shipped off to another group, with a harsh warning and a promise he would never be promoted again. He was not happy about the demotion and claimed the Rebellion was playing favorites because Deacon is a little special."

  "Okay, so he has motive," Agent Yuca agreed with a nod. "But why would he change the message?"

  "Because if the Empire jumped in while we were still flying around the fleet, there was a chance we could escape," Ahsoka explained. "No of us could have predicted just how intense the Empire's response would be. If it had been more reasonable, say, a few Star Destroyers and some smaller ships, there was a very good chance that the Talos Chariot could have escaped. But, once we landed and were inside the Lucrehulk, exploring and completing our mission, the Empire would have all the time in the world to wipe us out."

  "So if you're correct, then Nevue was willing to risk the fleet being stuck fighting the Empire, and potentially CIS assets as well because it would confirm you would be stuck, with nowhere to run," Agent Yuca said, rephrasing what Ahsoka had just explained. "What a karking bastard!"

  "I would have to agree," Ahsoka said, standing from her chair. "C'mon, it's time to confront Gadic again. I have a feeling he will be a bit more pliant if our theory is correct."

  Ahsoak and Yuca left the private room, while the slicer droid left to return to the ship. It wasn't difficult to find the Mon Calamari traitor this time, as he had returned to the warmth of his office.

  "Jedi Ashoka, Agent Yuca, is there something I can help you with?" He asked, looking up from his computer. "Have you had any luck locating the thief?"

  "In fact, you can help us. You can tell us exactly what you told Commander Loc to do when he was last here," Ahsoka demanded, calmly standing in front of his desk. "I want to know, in exact detail, what you instructed him to do and who his contact with the Empire was."

  The Mon Calamarian stared at Ahsoka for a long pause, his large eyes focused on her, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, he moved, reaching under his desk to pull out a hold-out blaster. Before he could even aim it, Ahsoka's lightsaber, a dark magenta, sliced through the barrel. By the time the traitor pointed it up under his own chin, all it did when he pulled the trigger was shoot out sparks.

  "Neshweh Gadic, with the power given to me by Generals Syndulla, Draven, and Dodanna, I am placing you under arrest for betraying the Rebel Alliance," Ahsoka said as Agent Yuca stepped around him, pushing him down against the desk and roughly locking his wrists behind him. "I suggest you cooperate and admit your guilt clearly so that when Nevue comes to visit, we can catch him as well. It is just about the only thing you can do to make up for your crimes."

  The damp-skinned humanoid sat back up straight, his webbed hands cuffed behind him, nodding slowly after a long moment. For the next fifteen minutes, he explained his plan, which he had passed onto Nevue, knowing that the beleaguered Rebel would jump at the chance to get back at the Skyforged. He had no idea that the bastard would go so far to ensure the Deacon and his team would be destroyed.

  "The risk to the fleet was minimal! It was only your leader's ridiculous abilities that garnered so much attention," The traitor spat, shaking his head. "I was only trying to aid the Rebellion, General Draven will agree with my plan! He knows that the Skyforged is only hurting the Rebellion."

  "General Draven was just as angry about the situation as Deacon Roy was," Ashoka explained, shaking her head. "You will find no kind words from him."

  The traitor was moved to a secure room, guarded by both of the beskar-clad commando droids. Meanwhile, Ahsoka, Vaz, and Agent Yuca settled in to wait for Nevue Loc to return to the base as scheduled. It took nearly a week, but it was well worth it when Ahsoka and Vaz stepped out of the shadows while he and another Rebel were unloading cargo. Unlike Gadic, who first tried to hide his guilt, and then tried to end his shame, Nevue's first instinct was to run. He barely made it a few feet when Ahsoka slammed him into the ground with the Force.

  If it was perhaps a bit harder than was strictly necessary, no one commented.