AN: Dedicated to KellyLangston58 for the votes! I also read that interview you did for your fic, and thanks for loving this story, and Talia, so much!! <33

Rebels stood around the main control room, watching General Draven intently. The General remained silent as he leaned over the communications hub, shoulders slouched. His light blue eyes didn't meet any of theirs; his fingers curled around a communications headset, tightening every moment. A heavy smell of fear and desperation filled the room. Draven couldn't stand it.

Everything slowly crumbled down.

He took a few more moments to compose himself. Daring to risk his voice cracking took too much energy. More than he had, really. All he could muster up were the words no rebel ever wanted to hear, "The Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis have been taken."

Someone called out from the back, "To where?"

Pinching his nose eased the aching pain in his mind, but didn't push down his stress. Telling the truth would send the room spiraling. Telling a lie wouldn't help anyone. Someone had to act strong, and right now, he was the highest ranking commander in the facility. General Draven lifted his head and stood up straight with conviction. "Sources say inside the Imperial Palace on Coruscant."

Disbelief rang around the room in scoffs, short laughs, and straight up fearful whimpers. Many rebels got skittish, wringing their hands, or swaying from side-to-side slowly. One person shouted out, "That's the Imperial capital!" After that, more and more rebels spoke up.

"Please tell me we're not falling for this death trap."

"We can't risk everything we have already!"

"The Imperials might know where we're located!"

Halron, standing with his arms crossed, glared at everyone mentioning disloyalty and abandonment. The air filled with chatter from side conversations, and none of the topics were positive. Halron's eyes finally landed on Draven, giving him the idea to join part of the interrogation. "Who the hell is our source?"

Draven's eyes locked onto Cassian's dark ones. Cassian stood up a bit straighter, hands behind his back as if he were about to get an order. To his surprise, the General didn't utter a word. Cassian took the hint and responded in a calm manner, "Someone that's willing to help us on this rescue mission, I hope."

Silence reigned. A hot blaster could drop and no one would make a sound. If the communications officer hadn't yelled out that the Senators were captured, this whole mess could've been avoided. But no. The officer couldn't contain himself. Draven made a mental note to move the officer into another position later. "His name is Galen Marek."

Talking of all sorts exploded in the room upon hearing the name. Some rebels left the room. Others clung to themselves in an attempt to maintain their fear. Some spout profanities. More began to bicker. Over the sea of fear, Talia could barely make out someone saying, "You mean Starkiller?"

"Starkiller?" Talia questioned Cassian. Her brown eyes searched the room, watching as all the spies, pilots, mechanics, and more discussed the situation. She slowly crossed her arms and put her weight onto one foot.

Cassian got a bit closer to be heard better, "Darth Vader's apprentice. We've heard rumors about him, until one rebel came in contact with him. She died the next day from her wounds."

Darth Vader's...apprentice? Talia's brown eyes widened as chills slithered up her spine. With a title like that, he must've been someone to be feared. Merciless. Murderous. Everything that the Empire exhibited through their ruling. The words came out more mumbled than a whisper, "You're kidding."

Cassian shook his head and turned to Draven, who kept his eyes locked on him. Cassian wasn't sure if it was to find his inner strength, or to instill all of his hope into him in particular. "The Senators left to Corellia to form the official Alliance. We would have allies in every corner of the galaxy. But...Marek explained it was a trap set up by Vader himself. Marek felt betrayed. That's why he's contacted me."

Bile rose up in Talia's throat, threatening to leave her system. She pushed it back down as the aching feeling bubbled in her stomach. Only bad things seemed to happen on Corellia.

Someone hidden in the crowd called out, "What do you expect us to do? This is a suicide mission!"

"How did he even know to contact you?" A skeptical rebel asked.

"He approached the rebels in Mon Mothma's ship." The stress slowly filtered into Draven's voice. His clenched fist almost punched the closest object next to him, but he restrained himself. "It won't get traced back to here. Do not worry."

"Vader will catch us all! We'll be executed in front of the whole galaxy!" Rebels started shouting, sparking the frenzy in the crowd. Never before had Talia or Cassian heard so much negativity come from their fellow rebels, or citizens in general. Spews of hatred for one another slowly bubbled to the surface pertaining to the disloyalty some were exhibiting. Madness, delirium, and so much more threatened to show itself.

Until General Draven screamed out, "SILENCE!" Everyone instantly fell silent, stunned by his harsh tone. Following that cue, he continued in annoyance, "Marek is going to meet a small team on Coruscant. The team is going to go in, release the Senators, and get the hell out of there. We need volunteers."

No one moved a muscle.

A wave of unease drenched the room. Without a soul speaking up, or maybe even breathing, it was clear that no one wanted to even be there. Rebels crossed their arms. Lowered their eyes. Tapped their feet. Others sunk into the crowd behind the rest. Hope had been snuffed out in an instant at the mention of a Sith.

Clearing the awkward silence, Cassian stepped forward outside of the crowd with newfound determination. Despite the unforgiving odds, there was always a reason to try. Right now, he could think of three reasons. Each one contained the name of a senator. "I will lead the mission." He linked his hands behind his back and stood tall.

Talia's eyes flickered to him. He had sheer confidence. Strength. Willpower. Hope. Cass wouldn't sign up unless he knew there was an inkling of a chance that the mission would succeed. It was enough of a reason to trust his judgment. Talia cleared her throat, throwing her hat into the ring, "I'm in."

A hesitant rebel spoke up from somewhere within the crowd, "You two are insane to even try. They must've doubled security two fold by now."

Without hesitation, Talia replied confidently, "We got in there once. We can do it again." She released her arms from their crossed position and stood at full height. Negativity surrounded their lives constantly. Only together could they become the beacon of light the galaxy so desperately needed. She glanced over at Cassian, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"We're not smugglers. We can't smuggle people out of the most secure place in the galaxy."

Thinking back to what Xyrias said, Talia shook her head. Knitting her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes in confusion, she questioned, "Where's your hope?" Shouting from the crowd started back up.

"Hope? You're basing your contribution on something as minute as hope?"

"Where is hope going to get us? Killed, right before we rescue the senators. If we set foot into the capital, it's over."

Hope got Xyrias killed. It doesn't mean they should let the rebellion die. Dying for the cause was braver than hiding with your tail between your legs. He broke his professional stance and almost pointed at the rebel, but refrained from doing so. Fire heated up in Cassian's veins as a surge of energy pushed his thought process out through his mouth, "Rebellions are built on hope. They have been since day one. Where would we be without it? We'd be going on about our horrible lives, not fighting for what we believe in. The Empire would win."

"If we go and fail, the Rebellion is dead anyway."

Talia scoffed. Straight. Up. Bullshit. What's the point of a rebellion if you aren't going to rebel when something doesn't go your way? Talia stepped forward and did what Cassian didn't. She called everyone out that weren't believing in the cause. Her arms left her sides and pointed at every single one of them, or at least in the general areas the voices came from, and increased the volume of her voice, "If we don't try, we're setting ourselves up for failure. Without the senators, we are nothing. No funds, no influence, no more recruits...The Rebellion will crumble. So we're going to get up and come up with a damn plan because the entire galaxy is counting on us."

Even General Draven had gone silent.

Some members of the crowd stood a bit straighter in agreement. Slowly, their words were inspiring others to believe in the mission. To believe in the cause once more. Cassian picked the conversation back up, "You'd rather live in a galaxy where you're ruled under an iron fist? Where you have no say in how you're monitored, or even a just court system? The Empire has put us under a microscope, and you're telling me-" He waved his hands around at everyone in the room, "-telling everyone in this room that you're accepting of that? Because that sounds like cowardice to me."

His dark eyes searched around the room. He worked with these people. Hell, he even called them family. To give up at such a pivotal moment in time would not only fail the Senators, but themselves. "Every single one of you has been here for months, or even years. What we're fighting for －our freedom － means something. Why else are you here? It's certainly not for the safety that this service brings."

Sadako, the girl with the horrifying origin discussed at the campfire, called out from the crowd, "Count me in."

The tension within Cassian's shoulders loosened. One side of his lips curled up into a half-smile. "Good! Good. We need more. Come on."

Hope was contagious. It was evident enough when other rebels spoke up. Halron nodded towards Cassian and declared, "With a hell of a speech like that, you know I will always have your back."

Kalla joined in, cracking her knuckles at the same time, "You guys need a pilot to fly you outta there in a jiff. I'm in."

A few more spies, saboteurs, and assassins joined in. Draven's face lit up for a split second, then returned to its normal, calm state. He nodded in appreciation to Cassian before giving the order, "I'll contact Marek. You're all leaving in five minutes."

The crowd disbursed. Some broke off into groups that whispered to one another. Others glanced at Talia and Cassian as they walked by, victims to their own thoughts. The few that were left went to their rooms to gather their belongings for the trip. General Draven took a moment to breathe the fresh air outside.

Talia followed Cassian out in the direction of their rooms. She tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Want me to get Kaytoo?"

Cassian thought for a moment as he continued on his way. Considering Kaytoo was still learning how to adjust to his lost memory bank, bringing him along could be a risk. Then again, how else was he supposed to learn? "You want to go into the capital with a KX droid?"

"Why not? We can say we're from another base. Keeps our cover."

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes catching hers. Almost playfully, he commented, "You have better ideas every day."

Talia rolled her eyes. "Or you're just finally listening to me."

"I'll get the supplies. You get Kaytoo."

Before he could do so, Talia pulled him aside. She glanced around at the rebels passing by, waiting until they were out of earshot. The tone of her voice lowered almost to a whisper, "Are we both going to pretend that this is going to go well?"

"It will." Cassian kept his gaze on her and sighed. It was clear that she knew what the Palace actually held inside. Not many knew the difficult time they were about to encounter. "You're referring to the maze in the beginning, aren't you?"

"Yes. Even after that..." She shrugged, almost at a loss for words. "We might see the Emperor, or Darth Vader. Sith are merciless. Just..." Talia paused, choosing her words carefully, "...live. Okay? I'd like it if you survived this mission."

Cassian couldn't help but to smile a bit at her worry. Maybe they were on the same page when it came to emotions. That would have to wait, though. The mission was just beginning. "Likewise, Talia." He walked away to get the supplies, leaving her alone in the hall to get the droid.