We were quickly escorted back to the Talos Chariot, all of us piling inside and heading up to the lounge. I resisted the urge to loosen my uniform to sit casually, as it would only make getting back into "character" that much harder. When I sat down on the lounge couch, I let out a long sigh, running my hand through my hair.

"So," I said as everyone found a seat or leaned against something. " Anyone have any thoughts?"

"You went a bit deeper than planned when compensating for the Lucrehulk and Dreadnought," Tatnia commented. "We only planned on giving them half of those smaller ships."

"I know, but honestly, that was all chum change in what we are negotiating for," I pointed out. "If we had pushed to sell them separately, I could have maybe gotten half as much as we did with the Gozanti."

"I still think we should have kept the Gozantis," Julus said, popping off his helmet. "Even if we just kept them in storage or on the Lucrehulk."

"If they hadn't seen them already, I honestly would have considered it," I admitted with a tired shrug. "But there was no way they didn't get a good scan in when we first met up at the rendezvous, so there was no reason to hide that they existed. Plus, it was also a good way to prove that we are actually here to do business. Play it simple and fair, you get simple and fair deals."

That seemed to at least partially satisfy Julus, who leaned back in the chair.

"What sort of planetary shield generator do you think they will get their hands on?" Tatnia asked.

"Well, the one they have here is enough to withstand sustained bombardment from a dozen star destroyers, probably even the Executor," I said, gesturing vaguely to the mountain. "That one is worth maybe a million credits? We gave them ten, so I'm expecting something a bit more impressive."

"Do you think they can back that up?"

"If they can't, then they're gonna be stuck footing the bill," I pointed out. "If they come to deliver, and it's just another one of what they have, they are going to have a rude awakening when I refuse to turn over the ships."

Ahsoka winced, but Tatnia nodded with a smirk. She had always been eager to play hardball with all of our allies, including the Rebellion. The fact that I was drawing a line in the sand and not dealing with their bullshit anymore was music to her ears. Ahsoka, on the other hand, had helped the Rebellion grow into its current form. To hear us voice valid concerns that wouldn't be too far from what we had had to deal with so far must have sucked.

"Princess Leia was not surprised to hear you deny her deal," Corvak pointed out, also having taken off his helmet as we all sat down. "Was she testing you?"

"That's all I can think of," I agreed with a nod. "Either that or she wanted our denial on record. I would consider Leia to be a tentative ally as long as we keep playing it straight with the Rebellion, so I don't think she is trying to catch us out on a technicality or anything. More than likely, she wanted us to prove our intent wasn't flimsy enough to fold when offered what we wanted at the cost of our message."

"Is she that skilled of a diplomat?" Corvak answered. "I've always seen royalty make terrible politicians because they never work for their positions."

"Her family raised her on lessons of diplomacy," I explained, shaking my head. "It's in her blood, and it's certainly in her soul, though... her methodology and goal might be a bit misguided. She is learning under Mon Mothma… Her dream right now is to reinstate the Senate so it can all go back to normal. I hope that is the result of Mon Mothma misguiding her and not her own conclusion because if it's the latter, it's very disappointing."

I shook my head, most of my crew picking up on and agreeing with my mocking tone at the last part. The last thing this galaxy needed was to go back to the train wreck that the Old Republic had become before and during the Clone Wars.

"Do you have a plan if we cannot reach a good deal for the Diamond and the Munificent?" Julus asked. "If they are struggling to buy the Diamond, how are they going to buy the much bigger and more impressive ship?"

"And all the droids they have on it," Nal pointed out, sipping a drink he poured himself. "Not as much as the Lucrehulk, but there was still a lot."

"To be honest, I don't know," I admitted with a shrug and a frown. "I'm hoping to get a big chunk of credits for the munificent on top of some sort of trade. I have a few suggestions, but I don't know how thrilled they will be."

"How difficult would it be to set up a shop making these starfighters?" Vaz asked through her helmet.

"Pretty easy, I wasn't lying about how they get their ships after all," I responded. "Most of their starfighters are made in one-offs in garages and mechanics shops, so we could absolutely set up a couple of hangar bays somewhere that slowly trickle one or two A-wings a month into our forces."

"So we could hire a couple of workers, get some gear, and build them ourselves?" Tatnia asked. "Why aren't we already doing that with some other starfighter?"

"Because we currently have a surplus of V-wings. They basically fill the same role as the A-wings, but to a lesser degree," I explained. "A-wings are fast and nimble, and with the stuff I give our pilots, they will make them dance. Plus, the A-wings are small, meaning they would fit easily in our pocket carriers or anywhere else we wanted to tuck them."

"If they deny your deal, would you go behind their backs?" Ahsoka asked, an eyebrow raised.

"In an 'all bets are off' scenario? Maybe," I responded with a shrug. "But unless this meeting goes south hard, that's not gonna happen. I don't want to alienate them, I want them to take us seriously. Bartering with schematics like this is a good way to do that."

We continued to discuss our options until Calima passed on a message that our transport would be returning soon to pick us up. Sure enough, we were soon taken back to the base, where we were dropped off at a dining hall that had been spruced up and decorated similarly to the conference room we had just been in. Considering it was quite close to the conference room told me this was intentionally created as a dining hall for those using that room.

We sat down and enjoyed a simple but well-made meal, made from food harvested from the planet Alpha Base was built on. A rather large crablike crustacean was the centerpiece, with several mollusks and other food set around it. The first course was a soup that tasted remarkably like clam chowder, enough that it actually struck me silent after I first tasted it. Leia seemed to pick up on it but didn't mention it, simply continuing to talk about the planet's plentiful, vibrant oceans.

"I'm sure the Mon Cals stationed here have been enjoying the waters," I commented, the trained diplomat nodding and smiling.

"Indeed, and their skill at gathering food in underwater settings has made keeping those that live here fed considerably easier," She admitted. "We are currently in the process of designing several fish farms to be sunk into the water. Any mass production of food we can manage is well worth its weight in gold."

We continued to enjoy the meal, mostly sticking to polite small talk, until eventually, I managed to steer the conversation to our most recent failed mission and the ambush itself.

"I assume that the Rebellion is investigating where the leak came from," I said. "I may not blame the organization as a whole, but finding those responsible would certainly make me and those I lead more comfortable."

"We are investigating," Generally Syndulla. "Whoever it was not only sold you out, they put the entire fleet in danger. We were minutes, maybe less, from jumping into the location. While your plan worked to save your people, we would have likely been torn to shreds trying to escape. I… Our people were not trained to stand up to such a massive ship."

"They are tough, but they aren't invincible," I assured her. "They share the same weaknesses that all large Imperial ships do. You just need to exploit them. However, that's not what I wish to discuss. The investigation, who is performing it?"

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"Our internal investigations unit has made it a high priority," General Rieekan explained. "They have been running through our systems and going over our records looking for a lead."

"In that case, might I make a suggestion?" I said, continuing when Princess Leia and General Syndulla nodded. "In the Old Republic, it was the Jedi who would have responded to such a blatant and dangerous breach of security."

As I made my suggestion, I gestured to Ahsoka, who did not look surprised by my proposition, which made sense since I had already discussed this with her.

"Ahsoka is well known by your people, I trust her with my life, and considering her previous role in the Rebellion, I can't imagine anyone would deny her questions or hinder investigation without nefarious reasons," I pointed out. "She may be a member of the Skyforged Vanguard, but surely she can be trusted, given her history and dedication to the cause?"

"That… is an interesting suggestion, one that has merit. I could assign her to the case, especially if she agreed to work with a member of the investigation team?" General Syndulla said, looking between Ahsoka and I.

"As long as they can keep up, that shouldn't be a problem," Ahsoka responded, nodding slightly. "It may even help."

"They will certainly help you get around the base," General Rieekan said. "We take security seriously on base."

"Of course, General," Ahsoka said with a nod, and I bit back a retort about how their security could probably use some work if people were sneaking around it and selling out secrets without getting caught.

We finished our meal after another hour, by the end of which I was really starting to feel bad for the rest of the crew. They spent more than an hour and a half just standing there, watching us stuff our faces with delicious food. I decided that when we were done here, the whole crew would join us back at Nirn. We would celebrate or commiserate together as a group, depending on how these negotiations went.

As we settled back into the conference room, Leia was first to take the floor. She stood up with a carefully crafted, excited smile.

"I have some good news. I was able to contact Admiral Ackbar and General Merrick. They have both agreed that, as a sign of trust and hope for our future endeavors, you may have the schematics for our most advanced version of the A-wing. That, along with seven million credits and a single squadron of A-wings. That is, unfortunately, all we can spare."

"That's fantastic news," I said with a smile. "I'm glad we could reach a satisfactory deal. I will message my people to start preparing the ship to hand over. We will be taking the mentioned cut of the droids for ourselves, as we discussed, but the ship and everything else is yours."

"That just leaves the final item, the Munificent class," General Dodonna said. "We were able to come up with a deal I believe you will like."

The general tapped on his datapad, and a moment later, mine received a data packet, an image of a ship. It was a GR-75 Medium Transport, one of the more recognizable ships from the movies, especially after the Hoth battle scene. This particular version was modified, with the hundreds of crates under the curved plates replaced with massive fuel tanks.

"This is one of our standard fuel ships, which we use to transfer starfighter and starship fuel across our many cells," He explained. "We get this fuel from several sources. Some of it is stolen, but some of it is harvested and refined at our own plants. We offer one of these fuel ships and to fill it three times a month for two years."

"From the early days of the Rebellion, we know how difficult it can be to reliably find fuel. We can only imagine how much of an issue it has become for your forces," General Syndulla said, continuing after the general made the offer. "In exchange, we ask that you take ten million credits off of the Munificent price tag."

"An interesting offer," I admitted, tempted to accept off the cuff since fuel was more or less one of our most significant expenses and one that our quartermaster struggled the most with. "But should we not talk about the actual price first?"

"What do you think it's worth?" General Dodonna asked.

"New, it should cost fifty million, but obviously, between time and the minor damage it took as we escaped, that isn't reasonable. We were thinking thirty million," I responded. "With your cut removed, that would be about twenty-four million. Of course, you have to take the entire ground force stored inside, as well as fifty-three vulture droids, into account as well."

The Munificent was carrying nearly a hundred and twenty thousand battle droids, twenty thousand of which were super battle droids. This included weapons and basic equipment, as well as basic transports, but unlike the Lucrehulk, it did not include heavy weapons, tanks, speeders, or several other bits of what would make up a functioning army. Still, it was not something I could just fold into the cost of the ship.

"The Skyforged will be taking ten thousand super battle droids and a correlating portion of upkeep equipment for them, but the remaining force is still worth seven or eight million credits," I pointed out. "I would say, to keep things even and fair, we can call it six million with your percentage included, making the whole ship a flat thirty."

"And would you be willing to accept the deal for fuel?" Princess Leia asked, raising her eyebrow.

Before I could answer, Tatnia slid me my datapad, prompting me to look down. On it was a quick series of calculations, showing a generalized cost analysis of how much money that much fuel, spread out over two years, would actually cost. Apparently, a shipment of fuel that large would cost somewhere in the ballpark of ninety-five thousand credits, totaling about seven million over two years. That would account for two-thirds of our current fuel consumption. Taking into account how difficult it was to get that amount of fuel, it was a good offer. At the bottom, as if to confirm my opinion, she wrote, "Solid Deal!"

"I think we would be happy to accept the fuel shipments," I said with a smile. "As long as you agree to cover with credits or materials if you are unable to meet the deal each month."

"Agreed," She said with a nod. "Twenty million credits and three monthly shipments of fuel for the Munificent and its on-board army. I am thrilled we could reach an amicable compromise for these ships, Admiral Deacon."

"As am I," I said with a smile. "The Skyforged Vanguard will likely take some time to allow itself to adjust to its new situation and ships, but once we do, I assure you we will continue our resource and asset seizure from both Imperial and criminal sources. I believe I can reliably state that, after the success of this negotiation, the Rebellion will remain our primary client."

"I hope that, over time, the Rebel Alliance can become more than clients," Princess Leia suggested. "As a group determined to free the galaxy from the Empire's iron grip of Tyranny, we hope that any like-minded group would consider us allies."

"I think, given time, anything is possible," I said with a smile and a nod. "The Skyforged Vanguard is happy to forge alliances with those who prove themselves. As long as we are treated respectfully and can expect a level of trust and security from those people."

The back and forth ended with the proverbial ball firmly in the Rebellion's court. The Skyforged Vanguard was here as a major entity now, not as a small-time band of mercenaries. If the Rebellion wanted to play ball, they would have to make an effort to keep us happy, not just toss us scraps and expect the world in return.