(Chapter cowritten by @-JustADaydreamer- and @Snaggle19Crocodog )

It's about time.

Senator Kal Mariii thought the door to Heiss Unduli's office would never open. Then again, what was he to expect from a Separatist? As untrustworthy as he felt Senator Unduli was, he was nonetheless intrigued by the fact that, as of yet, he was the only one to claim of having any knowledge as to who their new common enemy was. That sort of information would be valuable to possess, even though its source was less than desirable. As wary as he was of the situation, he remembered that the Senate had voted for him to attend this crucial meeting, and he could not let the Republic down. For now he decided to simply play along and hear the Senator out, but not for a second would he lower his guard.

Heiss Unduli himself was understandably nervous about all this. Not only was it like walking into a den of Rancors to come back here, but he also had no way of being fully certain his information was even correct. But it was the closest he had gotten to the Renegades in a long time and he had taken the risk, hoping that he might hit a stroke of luck and that they would actually be there. Heiss also had no way of knowing that he had not only been correct on his information, but he was also about to blamed for an attack that he hadn't even known about. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.

But for now, he was very unaware of all of this. This was a critical meeting. While his end goal was to be able to end the war between the two sides and negotiate some sort of peace permanently, for now, he was hoping just for them to be able to find some sort of common ground long enough to take care of this Renegade problem. If they could work together on that, then what's to say they couldn't work together on more? One step at a time. Heiss knew he was taking on a near-impossible task but it mattered little if there was even the slightest chance for peace, and that was why it was important for them to be able to save Senator Amidala should she really be in danger. He felt she would be likely to try and work with him. With a deep breath, he opened his door, letting the Republic senators in.

Representative Eletha Rosach of Chandrila held her head high as she entered the office, hoping to disguise the nervousness she felt. One could say that this was one of her first solo meetings without her mentor, Senator Mon Mothma. Even though Eletha did hold the elected position of Representative on her home planet, up till now she had felt like a student or an intern, closely following and watching the actions of her mentor. And there was nothing wrong with that. She loved learning and was more than happy to glean what wisdom she could from Mon's experiences. And now, while she appreciated the independence and responsibility of being on her own, it was intimidating to have to handle a potentially delicate situation. At least Senator Kal Mariii of Mon Calamari was here, and he had many more years of experience than Eletha did.

"Good afternoon, Senator Unduli," she greeted the Mirialan, curtsying respectfully. "Thank you for inviting us here. I'm curious what you know about this 'Renegades' group you've spoken of."

It astounded her how many people didn't even offer him basic politeness simply because he was a Separatist. She strongly disagreed with his position, but that didn't mean she didn't want to hear him out. He was on a side that wanted to secede from the Republic- but what if the loyalist side was actually willing to hear what he had to say? Perhaps the Republic could be improved, made stronger, that way. Hopefully Senator Mariii would share her sentiments. Straightening, Eletha waited for him to take the lead.

Kal glanced across at Representative Rosach steadily as she entered the room ahead of him. He could tell she was nervous, but every representative and senator has been at some point or another in their career. As unique of an opportunity this was, with the Separatists coming to the Republic for aid against a common threat, it would be understandable for the pressures of this particular situation to get to anyone. Even he wasn't completely at ease. Despite Representative Rosach's youth and inexperience, though, he had confidence in her to navigate these potentially tricky waters. This meeting would be a good lesson for her to learn from.

Listening to her greeting, he nodded solemnly. "Agreed. I too am interested to learn more about this mysterious rogue faction who's been threatening our territories. They have become a serious issue to reckon with across the galaxy, and any information about them would be quite welcome."

He peered around the room in suspicion for anything out of the ordinary, but Senator Unduli had not done too much with it, at least that he could tell.

After this moment of formalities, Senator Mariii decided to dispense with the pleasantries and get started. "So tell me, Senator, how long have you been studying these... 'Renegades'?"

Straight to the point. Good. Heiss was anxious to have this off his chest as soon as possible for, should something happen to him considering he was a traitor in enemy territory, he wanted the Republic to have this information should something unfortunate happen to him while he was here. Yes, the Senate building housed senators from both sides of the war, but he had purposely not been sent back here since becoming a turncoat. Rather, he spent his energy and resources tracking and hunting the Renegades with full support from the Separatists, and it felt odd being back amongst his old fellows again. He did not hate them. He simply didn't agree with some of their ideals, including their production and use of literal men for their army which he considered to be as base as slavery.

Waving his hand to his obnoxious Republic droid to fetch them some drinks, Heiss then folded his arms behind his back and leveled his chin. Regardless of his nerves, he would face this challenge the same way he had faced the others: with determination.

"I am pleased the Republic has sent senators -- and representatives, of course -- who are willing to hear me out on this topic. As for how long I've been tracking them... Well, since the threat first arose. A long time indeed to have only now come with some useful information for both the Republic and the Separatists, but they are better at evading threats than any other group or enemy I have ever seen. Always two steps ahead, until now. As you well know, I tracked them to the planet of Er'kit and made my way to the Senate immediately to give warning and I hope that, should the Jedi not be able to fully overcome them, we can finally forge an alliance to rid ourselves of these terrorists once and for all. To merge our resources. After all, is the Republic not devoted to finding peace? Can there be peace with such a group spreading terror in the galaxy?"

As he spoke, Heiss studied the two in front of him. He remembered the older one, Kal Mariii, from when he had still worked with the Republic. The younger one he did not recall and she had a sense of inexperience about her. He judged that, while she no doubt knew who he was and his history with the Republic senate, she was not familiar with him on any other level and therefore seemed more open to what he was saying. Senator Murii appeared to be much more cautious. A wise pair, the two of them. The young and fresh mind and ideas from the Representative, and experience paired with familiarity with Heiss himself from the older. Not that the two had ever been close, but all the same it made a difference.

Eletha tried not to fidget as she sensed the unspoken tension between Senators Unduli and Mariii. She recalled Senator Mariii telling her about how he had worked with Senator Unduli before, back before he changed sides. And both of them had some coldness and bitterness as they spoke to each other, though it was disguised by polite words. It would be hard, certainly, to work with and know someone only to see them switch sides entirely. Especially since Unduli was directly related to a well-known Jedi... Eletha could only imagine what their family dynamic must be like.

Snapping herself out of her analysis of the emotional vibes, she listened carefully to what Heiss was saying. Overall, she agreed with his sentiment. The galaxy was divided enough and here was a group who wanted to exploit that. Rather clever of them, Eletha thought- to use the galaxy-wide tensions to their own advantage. And unfortunately, she wasn't sure if there were enough in the Senate who had the maturity or the humility to work together and resolve this.

"That's something that I think we can all agree on, Senator Unduli," she said carefully, seeing that Senator Mariii was leaving her an opportunity to speak. "However, I think it's easier said than done, to work towards peace for this galaxy. I hope that there are enough people willing to take this threat seriously, but I worry that there are too many- on both sides- who are too stubborn and proud to do anything about this terrorist group. That's one reason why this war got started in the first place."

Kal nodded in agreement with Eletha, though he found his blood boiling at Heiss' words and chimed in with his own thought. "Of course we all want peace, Senator, but you also need people you can trust if you want to keep the peace."

He narrowed his eyes as he stared straight at Senator Heiss. How dare he try to claim he wanted peace in the galaxy after the stunt he pulled in betraying the Republic! As a Separatist he made his choice of forgoing peace for war. But to try and appeal to their sense of humanity– Mariii paused and took a moment to re-center his thoughts. The time for division would have to wait. These Renegades had made themselves known by brutally torturing and killing other senators from both sides. The Separatists and the Republic were both losing to them, and while he would rather have the Separatists become bait while the Republic dealt with this threat, he knew they probably felt the same vice versa. However, as much as he disliked the idea of working with these traitors, he knew something had to be done. After all this time, after all the pain caused from numerous losses, Senator Heiss had finally found a clue that could lead to the capture and defeat of these terrorists. He had to admit, for all the wrong decisions Heiss had made in switching sides, he hadn't lost his ability to discover critical details that could change the tides of an argument, or in this case, a war against a common enemy.

After a few tense moments, Senator Mariii continued. "What exactly do you propose we are to do if our Jedi cannot locate and subdue them? With as much time as you've had to study their movements, surely you would have some form of a plan of action in mind, a solution to this thorn in our sides. The longer we wait to fight back, the worse this is going to get for everyone, and I fear that simply combining our resources will not be enough if they are as formidable and elusive as you say they are. What makes you think you'll be able to find them again, should they escape this time?"

Though not exactly thrilled that his past as a traitor had been brought up here and now, it wasn't as if Heiss hadn't been expecting it when he came here. Unfortunately, he was the only one who had dedicated so much time to tracking the Renegades and anyone else who had attempted either gave up or ended up dead, which did tend to turn people off of getting involved with the terrorist group. Not Heiss. He knew the dangers that this brought but honestly, what did he have to lose? Everything he had ever cherished was lost when he left the Republic; friends, allies, even family, but he had held on tight to what he believed in and that was a peaceful galaxy. He just didn't believe that that peace lay with the Republic anymore. So either he would have some measure of success in his attempts or he would end up dead, as if anyone would be likely to care, and he was lucky that he had been so fortunate thus far. No one else had achieved this much before him and he hoped that would count for something.

Still, the talk of traitors bothered him. Always did. He was just good at not showing it and he kept his face passive as he listened to the other Senator speak, nodding as he acknowledged the points the elder Senator was making.

"With the combination of our forces and resources, we wouldn't have to be so afraid. The Renegades have been ruthlessly murdering people from both sides of this war and driving off any who would stand against, besides myself and the brave Jedi who've gone for the Senator, but with all of us? Together? The Republic has the Jedi and--" he grimaced at the next statement "-- a Clone army, and we have a massive army of our own, along with many... 'connections'. Connections that the Separatist alliance would be more in favor of using if we knew that we had the other great power in the galaxy working with us, not against us. Not even the Renegades could hide from us then. It would be risky, yes, but to do nothing is not an option. Not when--"

He was cut off. The small, rude Republic droid who had returned with refreshments gave a small series of beeps, and Heiss turned to look, eager. "News? From the battlefield? Show us!"

But alas, the news was not all that he had hoped.

The transmission of a figure he didn't recognize stood at attention, no doubt speaking to more important individuals than just the three of them, but it seemed that it was important for them to know as well. And why shouldn't it be? Their negotiations did revolve around the success of this mission, after all. "There has been no confirmed sighting of the Renegades," said the hologram stiffly. "Status of Senator Amidala: Unknown. An ambush by a massive army of Separatist droids has the Jedi badly pinned down."

The look on Heiss's face was one of pure shock and horror. No. This couldn't be happening. They had promised him that they wouldn't send the Separatists there; that they would let him negotiate for a temporary peace. But who would the Republic blame for this disaster? Though the hologram had since faded, Heiss remained staring. Frozen. He knew what would happen. In mere seconds a group of guards would burst through that door and he would be captured, interrogated, and then thrown into jail for who knew how long while the Renegades continued their reign of terror upon the galaxy, and all chances of an alliance between the two sides would be gone for good.

This was a nightmare.

(Author's Note: Over the course of this RP, JustADaydreamer and Snaggle19Crocodog and I have made a tier list of who's having the worst day. I can't remember exactly where Heiss is ranked, but he's certainly in the top 5! And it's only going to get worse! :) We hope you've enjoyed the blend of action and political intrigue so far. Make sure to vote and let us know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading!)