With no idea where Kanan was and no way to find him, Hera turned to Fulcrum for help. She wasn't getting the help she wanted, though. "Kanan knew the risks going in. You're supposed to focus on your next objective."

"But, Fulcrum, Kanan is our objective," Hera objected. "We can still find him."

"I don't doubt that you can but doing so would be another risk, one I can't condone. It could cost you, your team, and the overall mission," Fulcrum explained. He sighed before going on. "There's something else, Hera. Ezra's transmission has attracted attention, not just from civilians but from the highest levels of the Empire."

"It was Kanan's plan," Hera told him, looking away. "I guess it worked."

That didn't surprise Fulcrum. He had a feeling the Jedi had a hand in the idea. Still, that wasn't what he was supposed to say. "You were supposed to be under the radar, unnoticed. Now-"

Hera didn't let him finish. "Kanan wanted to inspire people. He wanted to give them hope."

"And he did, but if you are caught, if Ezra gets caught, that hope will die. To protect your unit and Ezra, you should stop your search for Kanan and go into hiding."

She nodded and sat down, expecting Fulcrum to end the call. He wasn't done yet though. "Hera."

Looking up again, she caught a mischevious tone in the last thing he said: "The key word here is 'should'."

Her eyes went wide as the call ended and she was given no chance to respond. 'Should'? To protect your unit and Ezra, you should stop your search for Kanan and go into hiding. That was what Fulcrum said, and probably what he had orders to say. He was right, that was what would preserve her crew and allow them to survive.

It was like Fulcrum knew. He knew Hera was desperate to get Kanan back and was considering going after him whether she had orders to or not. He didn't say that she should, but...

Lightyears away, Fulcrum sat back in his seat and smiled. He anticipated-no, expected Hera to go after Spectre-1. After all the times he had gone against orders to rescue his own people? He'd be a hypocrite if he tried to stop her.

Still, chances of this going sideways, at least a little bit, were very high. Fulcrum couldn't 'allow' the Ghost crew to track down Kanan, but he could predict that they would disobey orders and act accordingly as to make sure they survived.

Fulcrum contemplated it. Doubtless Hera picked up on his true message, but she still might be resistant to go against protocol. Whatever she and her crew decided to do would take time. He just hoped it would take enough time for him to convince Rebel command to help them.

~

Back in the common room, Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra were studying the radar scans. "Odds are they still have him at the Imperial Complex," Sabine told them.

"If they do, we all know he's as good as gone," Zeb admitted dejectedly.

Ezra didn't want to give up hope so easily. Standing up, he reached into the Force before declaring, "He's not gone, and he's not in the Imperial Complex."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know," he said stubbornly.

Sabine shut off the projection. "We can't make a plan based on a feeling."

Ezra turned around, refusing to back down. "Yes, we can! We do it all the time!"

"Not this time," Hera decided, coming into the room. She still felt conflicted, but she had made up her mind. She couldn't take chances on orders, especially not when they came through Fulcrum.

Unfortunately, she couldn't divulge that information to the others, so no one else was on board with her. "What are you talking about?" Ezra questioned.

"We can't go after Kanan. The Empire will be waiting with a trap."

"When has that ever stopped us?" he pointed out, thinking of all the times they ran into traps. The occasion with Trayvis was especially fresh in his mind.

Hera didn't look at him. "We can't risk it."

"Can't, or won't?"

Again, with the subtle wording. Hera wished everyone would just say what they meant and get on with it. Then again, she wasn't permitted to say the full truth. "Ezra, there's a bigger mission that you're not seeing. It can't be jeapordized for...one soldier."

Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew it wasn't true. Ezra knew it too. "'Soldier'? He's our friend, Hera. I can't just forget him, and I can't believe you would either. He'd do whatever it took to protect us."

"He already did when he sacrificed himself," Hera reminded him, finally turning to face him. "Ezra, he'd want us to honor the choice he made."

It didn't convince him. He tore himself away from Hera and stalked off, only hesitating at the door for a moment.

She almost went after him. Protocol said she ought to stick with this plan, and Fulcrum had said it too. He didn't mean it, but he said it, she argued with herself. So who do I listen to?

~

The answer turned out to be herself. She should have listened to herself, as should have her crew. To absolutely no one's surprise, Ezra convinced the other three to help him find intel on Kanan. She marched back to the Ghost furious with her crew walking in her wake.

"Hera, I know you're mad, but-"

"Mad?" she repeated to Ezra. "Try furious. You just put all our lives in jeopardy. I gave you a direct order and you disobeyed me."

Ezra tried to lessen the blow. "Well, it paid off. I know how to find out where Kanan is. Maybe."

She paused in her tracks. "Maybe? All that for 'maybe'?" Behind her, even Chopper realized how hot of water Ezra was in right now.

Chopper did, but Ezra either didn't know or didn't care. "Hera, none of us want to give up on Kanan."

"And you think I do?" she asked, her voice finally losing its harsh tone.

"No, I don't. That's why I took this risk."

Hera stared at him, and realized Ezra was committed. It wouldn't matter if she told him to stand down, he wasn't going to. She glanced behind him and saw that Sabine and Zeb were on the same page.

It seemed that Ezra knew what Fulcrum knew: she wanted a way to fix this. She wanted a way to find Kanan but didn't see one. Ezra had gone out and found it for them and Fulcrum had all but suggested it himself. Even if her mind said otherwise, her heart was already in it.

"Okay," she finally relented. "What did you learn?"

"I have a plan, and it involves Chopper."

~

The Rebel council stood in a holographic circle, waiting for Fulcrum. He wasn't late, they were just early and wanted to talk amongst themselves before he joined the call.

"Why do I have the feeling that the news he will have for us won't be the news we want to hear?" asked Senator Mon Mothma, rubbing her forehead.

"I dare say it's because you have good instincts," Senator Padme Amidala suggested, resting her hands on the table in the center. "He was very vague about the details for this emergency call, more so than security dictates he must be."

Beside her, Senator Bail Organa grinned. "Well, you would be the one to know, Padme. With how long the two of you have worked together, you probably know him better than anyone here."

The two of them knew about her special relationship to Fulcrum, but Mon Mothma didn't and Bail loved poking fun at Padme about it. He couldn't resist teasing her about it in plain sight and catching the threatening glare that she shot him out of the corner of her eye. It's the small things in life.

"I just want to know what is at risk here," Mon Mothma admitted, completely oblivious to the silent argument happening across the table. "What is this going to cost us?"

"We trust Fulcrum for a reason," Bail reminded her. "Whatever he will bring to us, it will be for the better. I believe that."

"As do I, but the stakes have been building as of late," argued Mon Mothma. "I'm simply trying to keep that in perspective."

Padme's face softened as she nodded. "We all are. We wouldn't be here unless we planned to."

Perhaps more would have been said, but Fulcrum joined the meeting at that time. When he saw the three senators conversing, he looked over and double-checked the time. "I'm not late, am I?"

"We were just talking," Bail assured him. "There's no need to worry."

"Although I assume you've called us here to remedy that," Mon Mothma jabbed, raising an eyebrow at him. "What is the emergency?"

Fulcrum glanced at Padme before speaking. She saw in his eyes that he was up to something. It was something good, though. "I spoke with Captain Syndulla and I passed on the orders for her and her crew."

Crossing her arms, Padme smirked at the rebel agent. "Did you?"

"Yes, actually I did, thank you," he retorted, scowling at her doubt. "I told her that to protect the unit and Ezra, she should stop your search for Kanan and go into hiding. Word for word what you told me."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is common sense," Fulcrum explained. "I have reason to believe that, by some unknown means, the Ghost crew will not comply with those orders."

It was Bail's turn to be suspicious. "What do 'unknown means' encompass?"

Fulcrum shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, I doubt they'll try to make another broadcast soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if they attempt to locate and rescue Kanan Jarrus. In order to do that they'll have to access Imperial data, which won't be a discreet task."

"Captain Syndulla is a reasonable soldier," Mon Mothma countered, pacing around the holotable. "She's not been one to go against orders before."

"None of her previous orders have asked her to abandon a member of her crew, and the rest of her crew can't know that she has these orders," he reminded her. "That's the protocol. Syndulla can't tell them why they're not allowed to go after Jarrus and because of that, they won't see a reason not to. Between that and her compassion..."

"The chances of them following orders is almost zero," Padme finished, looking up at Fulcrum. He nodded at her and although his face hid it well, the two of them seemed to communicate wordlessly. Both of them could tell where this was headed.

Sighing, Bail contemplated the situation before asking, "How are you sure of this?"

Making eye contact with the senator, the agent replied simply: "Because I've done the same thing in the past."

"That's the least surprising thing I've heard lately," Mon Mothma noted, pulling up the Rebellion's file on Captain Syndulla's crew. "I don't know how we're going to handle the loss of the crew, should the mission turn for the worse."

"There's no should about it," Fulcrum insisted. "The Spectres are walking into a trap and they know it. All of them except Hera believe they are alone, Kanan included. I assure you, we can manage the absense of the Ghost crew on Lothal, especially if we can make connections with their contacts on the ground. What we can't afford is to lose the Ghost crew altogether."

She stared at him, blinking once before speaking her mind. "You are suggesting we launch a rescue operation for a crew of five people? Kanan may be dead by now for all we know."

Fulcrum didn't take it personally, he was used to this sort of reaction by now, but he didn't let it slide either. "I'm suggesting that we prepare a military escort for two Jedi, two warriors, one of our best pilots, and her droid, that will be available to reinforce them should they find themselves unable to fend off the Empire after succeeding to rescue one of the most valuable assets the Rebellion may have at the moment. If these circumstances do not come to pass within the next forty-eight hours, the escort will be disbanded and the ships reassigned to their usual posts."

And that's why we listen to him, Padme thought with a smile. Fulcrum certainly had a way with words when he was trying to be persuasive, and he had certainly perfected the art craft over the past few years. He knew exactly the terms to use to win over a senator with limited military experience, and he was smart enough to formulate a plan that would be minimal risk for the Rebellion while creating an opportunity that was difficult to pass up on.

The other two senators knew it too. They knew Fulcrum's past as well as Padme did, and they also knew he wouldn't suggest it unless he believed it was worth the risk. For the six years he had been serving the Rebellion, he hadn't been wrong yet.

It wasn't long before Mon Mothma caved. "Form the escort. Forty-eight hours, and then I need all of you back to your stations," she decided, looking to the other two senators for confirmation. When they both nodded, she turned back to the agent. "If you do make contact with them, bring them in. As long as we're going to alert the rest of the crew to our existence, there's no point in trying to cover it up. We'll address Captain Syndulla's behavior then, as well as integrate her crew with a squadron. Heaven knows we could use her piloting skills."

"Understood," Fulcrum replied, nodding solemnly as if he wasn't grinning at the success of the meeting. "Forty-eight hours, starting now." He disconnected from the call, only daring to smile when his image was no longer being projected across the galaxy. He quickly yelled for his droid. They needed to make some calls, stat.

Still in the meeting, Mon Mothma sighed. "I don't know why I even try to discourage him anymore. It never works."

Unlike her, the other two senators were quite used to this by now. They had much more experience with Fulcrum's tactics than her. Bail laughed kindly. "What I have found is that there is more reason to the madness than it may seem at first. He knows what he's doing."

"I wouldn't go that far," Padme conceded, thinking back to her own history with him, "but he knows what needs to be done. That, if nothing else, will see him and the Spectres through."