For the rest of the day, I traveled around, meeting with different people and groups to discuss the future and the plans people were making. So far, a few groups had started to form, most of of them looking like the precursors to guilds and unions. The various vendors around the city had selected a spokesperson, as had the various shops and the construction workers.

  I was happy to listen to what they had to say, wanting everyone to feel like they were being heard, but I was also very careful in the messages I was sending while doing so. While it was important that problems were brought to my attention and that the people had a voice, I was not about to let power blocs or any sort of group capable of political influence take shape.

  Basically, I was trying to set a delicate balance as Vercopa grew. People could work together and build what they wanted, but the second that corruption, controlling factions, or anything else like that started to crop up, I was going to be the one to squash it, and I would not be holding back. It would be a tightrope walk the whole way, but I was determined to keep politics, and power grabs from ruining our home.

  So far, people still saw me as the leader of both the Skyforged and Vercopa, but I was sure that would change over time as the city grew. Personally, I was pushing for a council with short turnovers, as well as some sort of built-in anti-gridlock system. Before that could happen, however, we needed to have a solid foundation that could withstand people grasping for power and wealth. I would put boots in asses if it did, but I would very much prefer if I didn't have to.

  These meetings took the rest of the afternoon as well as the following day, spending two nights planetside before hopping back on a transport to head up to the Fury. 2nd Group had reported that their mission was a success, and that they were on their way home during my first afternoon, and I wanted to be there to greet them when they arrived home.

  When they finally arrived back in the system, I happily shook hands with Lieutenant Rider and Lefty, the respective clone and commando droid leaders of the two 2nd Group ground teams, as well as the captains of the various ships. I pulled them all aside for a short, unofficial debriefing, listening to how the mission went.

  "The hardest part was getting down to the surface without alerting the Imperials," Lieutenant Rider admitted. "We ended up hiring a freighter to land us near the Imperial starport for the planet."

  "How did you manage to make it through the defenses?" I asked with a frown. "I can't imagine they just leave those open to the public."

  "My team infiltrated the base at night, scaling the walls along a metal reinforcement point," Lefty explained. "Our primary mission was to destroy the security systems of the facility, giving the other ground team the opportunity to engage. They boarded the first ship, and we boarded the second."

  "And how did that go?" I asked curiously, turning to the clone lieutenant.

  "The droids had the security system down in minutes, it was honestly impressive," The lieutenant admitted. "It reminded me how karking terrifying it was fighting them during the war. I'm glad they're on our side now.

  "We did incur casualties. Three droids were damaged but remained at fighting capacity," Lefty explained. "One droid intercepted a grenade, and diverted its explosion using their body. We managed to recover seventy-eight percent of that droid's chassis.

  "Good work. Have the damaged units report to the droid repair shop," I said, referring to the chunk of space near the hangar Miru converted into a large droid upgrade and repair facility. "Have them bring the chassis with them so they can salvage the beskar. Rider, how did you do?"

  "Our mechanical expert has a bit of a concussion, and we have a couple of scrapes and bruises, but besides that, we are good to go," Rider responded.

  "And your target?"

  "We successfully made off with both of the Gozantis, sir," Rider responded. "Both seem to be in good order, stocked with supplies. The mech crew will have a better idea, but we never ran into any issues. I will say we took some fire from some TIEs, but the shield handled most of it."

  "Alright, you two, well done. Rider, I'll get the payment moving early so you can see your profits even if the ships have not been sold yet," I said with a smile. "In the meantime, enjoy your leave, get some rest, and restock. Start working with the planning teams to find your next mission, but keep in mind that the Whale Shark will likely end up being borrowed to transport starfighters and equipment once 1st Group returns."

  Both of the leaders, droid and clone, nodded and stood to leave, saluting as they left the room. It seemed that, despite a history of being enemies, the two ground teams were working well together. Perhaps it was because they had once been enemies and would have to be very familiar with the other's capabilities and methodology.

  With my schedule clear until 1st Group arrived, I spent some time with Miru, who, at this point, was running a whole research and development team. She loved the position and happily showed off some plans she had for a new A-wing design. Where her first attempt replaced the missiles with ion cannons, this new one replaced them with an system like the Vulture droid starship. Where the droid starfighter had two, the new A-wing design would have one heavier option, giving the A-wing just a bit more firepower without sacrificing speed.

  The design was still in the works, and a background project as well. I didn't quite see the point in having a light ship like the A-wing pack a heavy weapon as it would only result in trying to use the ship in ways it wasn't intended. She knew this and was only working on the design for fun and just in case.

  Eventually, after a few more days in space, organizing the latest goods and preparing for a trip to the Alpha Base to sell them, 1st group finally returned home. They entered the solar system late in the afternoon, the fleet approaching and settling into orbit with Boxi's Fury with two additional ships. A pair of, one in perfect condition and the other with some carbonized marks along the back end, one of its engines taking the brunt of the damage, the thruster off and sparking. The rest of the fleet seemed to be fine, and while the Talos Chariot landed inside the Fury, the fleet descended to the planet's surface.

  Of course, the two cargo ships landed in the left hangar, where they could be inspected for hidden damage, and the visible damage could be appraised properly. That could wait, however, because I was more concerned with meeting my team. I was waiting in the hangar as the forward boarding ramp lowered, laughing as I caught Ahsoka, who jumped down before it had finished. For a long moment, we simply enjoyed each other's presence, silently holding each other before pulling back just enough to look into each other's eyes.

  "It is so good to see you," She said, her arms wrapped around me tightly, holding me close. "I missed you."

  "I missed you too, love," I said, holding her back just as tightly. This was the first time I'd seen her in nearly two weeks, after all. "How are you? Did everything go well?"

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

  I let her go, pushing her back slightly to look her up and down as if inspecting her for damage. She chuckled and slapped my chest, pushing back in to lean on me. My head rested on her montral gently.

  "It went well, save a little issue at the end," She explained. "An overzealous Imperial ship chased us far beyond what was smart. Took down the shields on one of the cargo ships and knocked out one of its engines."

  "Blew it up before it could do any more damage," Tatnia added, having made her way down the ramp while I was greeting Ahsoka. "We didn't expect it to pull so far out of ranks with the other ships we were racing to escape."

  "Likely a captain looking to further their career," Nal guessed. "No career now."

  I snorted and shook my head, giving Ahsoka one last squeeze before pulling away and turning to the rest of my crew. They were all in their uniforms and looked unharmed. A knot that had been coiled around my heart slowly unraveled, and I felt considerably lighter.

  "Well, if that's all that happened, I'd call that a pretty solid win," I said with a nod and a smile, ignoring the sense of relief, even as Ahsoka squeezed my hand, no doubt feeling it through me. "You guys wanna show me the loot and fill me in on how it all went?"

  Tatnia, Ahsoka, Nal, and I traveled across the entire ship to the left hangar bay. The rest of the crew took the Chariot down to the planet's surface. While we walked and rode turbolifts across the ship, they gave me a short debriefing. Tatnia and Nal would write up a report for later, I was just curious how it went.

  Apparently, most of their time was spent sitting around and waiting for cargo vessels large enough for their liking to arrive. The plan had always been to snag a ship, stuff it full of loot, and burn atmo, but the depot wasn't populated enough to see a consistent stream of large enough starships. So, when the two Imperial Cargo Shuttles landed, they jumped on the opportunity.

  Working with the Mandalorian ground team, they took control of the entire depot, clearing it out of any hostiles, before stuffing both ships full of supplies, taking everything from crates of stormtrooper and other weapons to two dozen, just like the ones we had been using for months. Food, armor, weapons, and tools were all stacked and shoved in as jam-packed as possible.

  Some of it, like the three massive crates of grenades and at least half of the speeders, we would be keeping for ourselves. Everything else was destined to be sold to the Rebellion. I wouldn't subject my people to Imperial rations unless it was life or death, but the Rebels seemed to be fine with it.

  Beyond giving a look at the more obvious and impressive items they had taken, we didn't dive too deeply, since it was clear everyone was tired. I would receive an updated report once they finished cataloging everything anyway, so there was no point in hanging around, especially since the labor droids would do most of the work for us.

  The next day was spent preparing to travel to Alpha Base, loading up all of our L-2783s, including Whale Shark, with the nearly three dozen starfighters we planned on selling, as well as the ten remaining Bulbs and whatever small freighters we could fit inside. The rest of the ships, the ST-70s, DP-20, AEG-77s,, the two Gozantis, and both cargo ships were piloted by a skeleton crew, usually only two or three people. It was an incredible procession of firepower, protected and escorted by the 3rd Group.

  While my team and I were traveling on the Talos Chariot, the rest of 1st Group remained at home, as did 2nd Group. They were basically waiting in case 4th Group needed help. They were due back in two days, so the rescue operation would start if they didn't make it back by then. I wanted to make sure that there were plenty of resources to make that happen, and I gave them permission to even take the Boxi's Fury out of orbit if they required any serious firepower.

  I was not about to leave any of my teams hanging, especially not in the hands of the Empire.

  When everything was prepared, we left Nirn behind, our nav computers set for Alpha Base. I had already set up a meeting with General Syndulla and General Rieekan to hopefully sell the majority of our recovered equipment.

  When we arrived at Alpha Base, we were directed to land, but 3rd Group stayed in orbit while Talos Chariot escorted the fleet of products down to the surface. We landed among a cleared-out section of their landing space, probably set aside so we could land in a group. Not long after we had settled in, General Syndulla and Rieekan arrived, stopping outside the Chariot to meet us. With them were about twenty Rebel engineers, ready to look over our work. I quickly made my way down to greet them, Vaz following behind silently, fully armored as my bodyguard.

  "It is good to see you again, Admiral Deacon," Syndulla said, reaching out to shake my hand. "I'm excited to see what you have for us today."

  "It's good to see you as well, General, and you, General," I said, reaching out to accept both of their hands, one after the other. "We have a variety of freighters, starfighters, and warships. I suggest we start with the starfighters since I suspect they will be the easiest to inspect."

  "That sounds like as good a place as any to start," General Rieekan. "We are also very interested in the freighters you mentioned, specifically for this base. We are looking to beef up our supply capabilities."

  "Well, we have three dedicated freighters, as well as two Imperial Cargo Vessels, though one of them has some damage to one of its thrusters," I commented, leading them towards the Whale Shark while gesturing to the cargo ships. "We also have some ST-70s. Technically they are assault craft, but they make great rapid distribution ships."

  Me listing off what we had brought seemed to trigger something, causing Syndulla to frown with a confused look.

  "... just which of these ships are for sale?" the Twi'lek rebel asked, stopping as we walked up the Whales to look out at the around ten ships outside the carriers.

  "For the big ships, all of them but the L-2783s and the Chariot," I said with a smirk. "For the starfighters, only the A-wings and the LAAT gunships aren't for sale."

  Both of the Generals eyes went wide, suddenly realizing just how many ships we had brought to the table to sell. It clearly caught them off guard, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

  "We have a few days, so don't worry about signing for them all now," I assured them. "Take a look, let your people go over them, then reach out to anyone you need to talk to. No rush to sell them all right this minute. For now, let's just take a look at the starfighters.

  We continued to climb the boarding ramp into the ship, walking down the interior. We passed several of the crew, all of them respectfully nodding as we passed.

  "Now, on this carrier, we have a mix of heavier starfighters, including some headhunters…"