General Quarters

[Soto Terius]

Captain's Log, Supplemental:

Following the success of our recent hit-and-run operations along the Nothoiin Corridor, my ship and I have been ordered to Sullust, in order to rendezvous with the Dauntless.

While my better judgement suggests that General simply wants me to deliver my report in person, I can't help but share a little of my crew's apprehension, and their hope that my meeting may provide us with new orders. We are all proud of our achievements to date, but we all joined the Rebellion to strike back at the Imperial regime; not to be a mere annoyance to their shipping lanes.

When we're out there bloodying the nose of the Empire, we want to see the whites of his eyes: not the red of his cheeks as we catch him with his trousers down.


* * *

Soto was on his feet as soon as the shuttle's skids made contact with the deck. While the Dauntless posessed the same mind-bending dimensions as some of the larger Star Destroyers deployed by the Empire, her landing bays were much more modestly sized, making it impossible for the Orion to land aboard. She also lacked the kind of external ports necessary for the Orion to dock alongside: a short trip in a shuttle was the only practical way to transit from one starship to the other.

General Thrule had been kind enough to send one of his shuttles to collect Soto, rather than forcing the Captain to use the Orion's single - and cramped - shuttle; the concession made the journey no more comfortable however, and it had been the pilot's insistance that had made him sit, rather than desire. He would much rather have spent the entire trip pacing back and forth.

At the top of the boarding ramp before the copilot had even managed to reach for the controls, Soto ran a hand down the front of his uniform to smooth out the creases that sitting had caused, hoping it would also smooth out some of the restlessness that was building up in his muscles.

You're acting like a Cadet on review, he mentally scolded, forcing a calming breath through his lungs.

By the time the ramp had finished it's wirring descent to the deck, any indication of nervousness had vanished: all that remained was the unshakably calm and collected image of the cool-headed Captain that his reputation proclaimed him to be.

He descended into the Dauntless with easy steps, and came to a halt just short of the waiting General. He offered a curt nod in greeting.

"Reporting as ordered, sir."

[General Dan]

"I respect promptness, and you don't disappoint. Welcome aboard, Captain Terius."

Dan took a moment to evaluate his vanguard Captain, a knowing smile teasing at one corner of his mouth.

"I'd start with the normal pleasantries, but you look like you're about ready to run a marathon in that duty uniform. Walk with me."

Dan turned to the small squad that had been assembled for greeting duty, and dismissed them with a nod. The General and the Captain took a brisk exit, leaving the hangar, and strolling down Dauntless's long, gentle-curving, and well-lit corridors.

"I don't need to tell you what kind of asset you've been for the fleet on point, Soto. Speed is the key to our victory out here, and the difference between life and death between an enemy that outnumbers and outguns us on most occasions. You command the way I learned to command the hard way. Whether that makes it old school or new, I don't really care. I care that we share the same mind on how to win."

[Soto Terius]

"We fight because we have to; we win because we must."

Soto couldn't remember where he'd heard that particular quote-worthy line, but it seemed to sum up the Alliance perfectly. Aside from the odd sociopath and delinquent, most of the Rebellion was made up of citizens who had become soldiers because they saw no alternative.

He kept pace alongside the General, considering his words. There were certainly parallels between Soto's career and his; Thule had also commanded a Rebel corvette earlier in his Alliance career, and had engaged in the same style of hit and fade operations that had become the tactical signature of the Rebel Alliance over the years.

Idly, Soto wondered if Thule had been as relunctant to accept more responsibility and a larger command as Soto had been the last few times the Alliance offered him a bigger ship.

The thought was quickly pushed aside. "My crew and I have a job to do, General. Getting it done is all the thanks we need."

[General Dan]

The brisk walk had a purpose, and they were making a direct approach to a place they could speak with some discretion. First stop was a lift, and Dan punched in the command deck for their destination. With the Dauntless's size, they had a minute or so for that.

"Well, I have no intention of keeping you indisposed from them by buttering you up, so consider this less a commendation and more a telling of simple facts. The game is changing fast, Captain. I need somebody that can keep up with me, or the Alliance is in for a sucker punch."

He was confident enough that he had Soto's attention.

"What do you know of the Jedi?"

[Soto Terius]

Soto frowned a little at the strange question.

He was older than he looked; the hair that was missing from his head should have been rapidly turning silver by now. He had been young when the Clone Wars were fought, but was old enough to have served: he'd met Jedi, fought alongside them, and knew enough to have doubts about the so-called truths that the Empire had propogated about them.

That said, he doubted that the General was after a history lesson. Even if he was, there wasn't much to tell. The clone troopers had done a pretty decent job of wiping out the Jedi Order at the end of the war, and the Empire had spent the last few decades relentlessly hunting the leftovers. There were a few exceptions - Vader, Kenobi, Skywalker - but Endor had wiped out the last of them, for the most part.

The muscles in Soto's jaw bunched. "Whatever I do know, General, I have a feeling that you're about to tell me that the truth is something entirely different."

[General Dan]

"I wouldn't go that far."

Dan crossed his arms, leaning against the lift wall. Soto expected a hook, and that was good, but some things in the world were as they seemed, and occasionally too much cynicism was poison.

"I've fought with them since the beginning, Soto. Some are eccentric, and I doubt I'll understand them all, but when I couldn't find an ally in ten parsecs, I found them. Some in the Alliance see the Jedi issue as separate from our own. They see the Jedi as a tangential sect at best, and a drain on our resources at worst."

He shook his head.

"We need them, Soto. More than I think the rest of the Alliance realizes."

[Soto Terius]

He was preaching to the choir. Whether as soldiers or as Generals, the Jedi had proven to be a formidable force during the wars. And while granted, the majority of their order had been gunned down with ease by Palpatine's clone army, the betrayal came as a total surprise.

In a straight fight, and against modern day Stormtroopers? Soto knew exactly who his money would be on.

"No need to try and convince me, General," Soto agreed. "But it's one thing to know we need them; it's another entirely to do anything about it."

He shrugged. "If you can find them, I'll fly out and escort them home myself."

[General Dan]

There was a hint of a knowing smile on Dan's face.

"I knew I could count on you, then."

The lift stopped at their destination, and Dan made short time of closing distance on his executive office, returning the guard's salute as the door opened, letting him and the Captain inside.

"Take a seat, Soto. I'm about to give you a crash course in the state of galactic events. Drink?"

[Soto Terius]

For some reason, the guard was unsettling. Granted, when Soto had served during the Clone Wars there had been faceless, armour-clad soldiers posted at pretty much every corridor intersection; back then it had been a simple combination of security and status quo.

During his time with the Alliance however, and particularly aboard a modestly crewed ship like his Orion, he had grown accustomed to the Rebel habit of only doing what was necessary. There were times when he - like many of the other old veterans in the Alliance military - criticised the lack of proceedure and ceremony, thinking of it as one of the criteria of legitimacy that they were sadly lacking. But seeing the Rebellion harkening back to the old days didn't seem right either.

Maybe it seems like a waste of manpower, he mused as he settled down into the offered chair.

Or maybe I'm just bitter that I'm not important enough for a man outside my door.

His wandering mind didn't show on his features much; and just in case it did, he adapted his expression to disguise it as pondering over the General's question. "Normally I'd explain that I'm on duty and decline," he replied, a glimpse of pearly whites appearing as is mouth tugged into a smile. "But far be it from me to defy the example of a General."