It took nearly an hour to get everyone together, from ground team leaders to ship captains and several others. Some gathered together on their side, while others were alone, but all of them were projected around and above us, surrounding the lounge table. It wasn't the most ergonomic solution, but needs must when the devil drives.

  I did make a mental note to work out some protocols for who exactly needed to be contacted for the "all hands" meetings. We were getting to the point that there were too many people to include everyone. There was really no reason to get in contact with members of 2nd Group. They were busy and had more important things to deal with, and yet they had been dragged into the meeting.

  It was, however, nice to get in contact with 2nd Group and get some details on what the time-sensitive mission was. Apparently, someone had picked up whispers that a Hutt had found a mostly intact Clone Wars-era warship. Rather than let them drag it back to Hutt territory, they planned to seize it for themselves. They had taken their full fleet, as well as the with Clan Syrand the

  After explaining the situation and what we had gathered to discuss, we buckled down and began working out our options. Corvak was the first to point out something that, in hindsight, should have been rather obvious.

  "If we are going to be contributing to the Rebellion on such a large scale, and with such a large decrease in cost, it would only make sense that our contribution be properly politically recognized," He pointed out. "Worlds like Mon Cal no doubt have ambassadors and representatives, we should have our own."

  Mentally, I kicked myself for not considering the option beforehand. Not only did it fit perfectly into what I was hoping to build with the eventual New Republic, but there was no way that Mon Mothma or any of them would deny it as a request. Even better, the power our ambassadors held would be reinforced by our constant delivery of goods and the discounts the Rebels would be receiving. The higher discount we offered, the more money they saved, the more power we would have in shaping the Rebellion and, more importantly, what came after.

  "That would be worth a lot," I pointed out with a nod. "It would only take one or two sold capital ships for them to start taking our representatives very seriously."

  "We would need to hire politicians," One of the ship's captains pointed out, a Mon Cal with a scar along their lip. "How does one go along doing that?"

  "There were thousands of politicians who lost their jobs when the Palpi dissolved the senate," I pointed out, scratching my cheek. "We just need to find one who has always been against the Empire, hasn't joined the Rebellion, and is willing to work for a new group and colony. Preferably without draining our bank accounts."

  "That actually brings up a good point," Amescoll pointed out, his projection flickering slightly before stabilizing. "While getting our credits worth is important, can we afford to lose more than fifty percent of our income?"

  Before I could say anything, Finder, the clone who had started out as our quartermaster and now ran our entire resource department, spoke up. He was a clear, no-nonsense kind of person,

  "Short answer? No," the clone responded bruskly. "Our expenses are too high. Cutting out income that much would make it impossible for our Groups to keep up, even if they worked around the clock."

  "What if we offset a significant portion of our food and raw resources with things made in-house?" I asked. "There are various resources around the system Nirn sits in, and we are already working to figure out a farming situation."

  "If we could snap our fingers and have those things set up?" Finder asked, following with a shrug. "Then yeah, sure, we could likely start pulling a profit, even continue to grow. But those things cost a lot and take time. So if we tried now, we would only run out of money faster. We could delay that by stopping everything else, but it would still catch up to us pretty quick."

  I leaned back in my chair with a frown, crossing my arms. The Skyforged had grown rapidly for months now, and suddenly cutting our income did put us in a precarious position. That said, there were more ways to make money than just selling to the Rebellion.

  "And what if we managed to secure a large infusion of credits ASAP?" I asked, rubbing my chin. "Would we be able to push past that hump until we were more financially stable?"

  "Hypothetically, but we are talking millions of credits," the clone responded, looking down at something in his lap. "The farming equipment and supplies to support our people, taking into account how fast we are growing, would likely take a few million credits and would take several months to start producing. The industrial side would take considerably more money but could likely start producing materials and resources much faster. Of course, that depends on the quality and level of automation."

  "Give me an estimate, on the high side, just to be safe."

  "Twenty-five million credits," He responded quickly. "We could just barely afford that out of pocket, but again, we would go bankrupt before we started seeing results."

  "Do you have something in mind?" Corvak asked, leaning forward and looking at me specifically. "I know that look. You've already got something in mind."

  "I do, but it's going to have to be a stealth mission, something we can't take credit for," I explained. "We've been focusing so much on grabbing physical assets, then flipping around and selling them. What happened to just stealing credits and treasures?"

  "Another heist?" Julus said, perking up from across the table. "You son of a bitch, I'm in."

  Tatnia cuffed her boyfriend on the back of the head, but Julus just took it and continued to smirk. She then looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  "Are you going to fill us in on your idea?"

  "No. For now, I want a chance to look into it a bit. Besides, we have more important things to talk about," I responded with a frown. "And before you ask, if my idea doesn't work, there are other ways we can make large amounts of cash in a short amount of time. My idea is just a one-and-done, whereas, let's say, robbing banks or something similar would take multiple attempts."

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  "If we have a solution to the drop in liquid revenue, then that just leads us back to the original topic," Finder pointed out, before gesturing to me, handing back control of the gathering now that his worries were addressed.

  "Right. So far, we have fifteen percent for access to their intelligence network," I said, nodding to Finder. "And now we need an amount to insert ourselves politically into the Rebellion. It needs to be large enough that it provides our ambassador's legitimacy, so I suggest something like thirty percent."

  I looked around, spotting several people agreeing with me. Most weren't sure, since the idea was well out of their wheelhouse, but I saw enough nods to confirm the amount.

  "Alright, thirty percent it is," I confirmed with a nod, making a note on my data pad.

  "That just leaves five percent," Julus said, but Captain Gimbel, Captain of the , shook his head.

  "Fifty percent was just for purchases around a hundred thousand credits," the older captain pointed out. "If they are going to be taking even more off of larger ships, capital ships worth tens of millions of credits, then they damn well better make it worth it."

  "For starters, the five percent plus variable could easily be attached to an addendum to future cooperation," I suggested. "On collaborative missions, the split could be sixty-forty instead of fifty-fifty."

  "Wouldn't that just disincentivize them from working with us?" Miru's projection asked, seemingly still in her workshop on"Hard to collect if they refuse to show up."

  "One, they won't be able to resist if the targets are good enough, and forty percent of something we steal from the Empire is still both forty percent of something for free a strike against the Empire. I'm not saying they will be eager to follow us into every battle, but if we present them with good ideas, we will be able to collect."

  "And when we try to sell them something with ten million credits?" Tatnia asked. "And they ask for seventy-five percent off?"

  "If they ever asked for that large of a discount, I would tell them to go fuck themselves," I said with scoff, shaking my head. "I'm not selling a ten million credit ship for two and a half. I would say, without special caveats, that anything worth one million or lower should be fifty percent, while everything else runs along a range between that and sixty."

  "Perhaps… we have been thinking about this wrong," Vaz said, finally talking after keeping to herself for the majority of the meeting. "This mercenary group has always functioned under the assumption that, eventually, the Rebels would come out on top and defeat the Empire. Why not double down and declare every single credit under a debt to be paid when that happens."

  "As in, offer the fifty to sixty percent discount with the understanding that they would pay us back eventually?" I asked, a bit confused. "I understand the idea, but it would be a major lost opportunity to-"

  "No, we would still negotiate for the ideas we have come up with," She explained, shaking her head. "But… everything we have come up with requires no cost to them and does not provide us with anything material. Their intelligence network exists whether or not we have access, the political system is up and running without us, and if we didn't instigate joint missions, then nobody would be getting any percentage of the results. If this discount is costing them nothing, then why not ask for actual compensation in the future?"

  "They… might just let that through," I admitted, running the idea through my head as I scratched my head. "And… damn if it wouldn't be good for us as well. Having a debt like that, weighing over their heads... would give us some influence over them. If we could, over time, stack up a serious amount of owed credits… maybe add in a little interest, as if it was a loan instead of just a flat cut… We would be able to direct the Rebellion, or at least whatever comes next."

  "Are you sure they would go for that?" Tatnia said, sounding skeptical. "And how would it give us influence over them?"

  "We might have to be flexible to a couple of percentages we discussed, maybe do some clever negotiating… but yeah, I do," I said, nodding to myself as I thought it through. "As for why it would give us influence... well... The leaders of the Rebellion, for some reason, are under the delusion that if they push the Empire back enough, specifically off Coruscant, and kill Palpy, that all their worries will go away, and everything will go back to normal.

  "That's ridiculous," Lieutenant Rider, leader of the clone ground team, said. "That's not how that works."

  "It doesn't matter. They are delusional and desperate for their old power," I explained, shaking my head. "I'd bet a thousand credits that most of the higher-ups, politicians, and generals, especially the ex-senators like Princess Leia and Mon Mothma, daydream about drinking tap caf in their old offices like nothing ever happened. To them, right now, paying an IOU after the "war is over" would be as simple as ratifying a movement in the senate hall."

  "But the war won't be that simple," Nal pointed out. "How do we get them to pay when we know that fantasy is false?"

  "We tie it to something they are desperate to do. The death of the Emperor, the retaking of Coruscant, the formation of a legitimate government over a certain membership level," I said, now on a roll. "We pick one or multiple and tie the debt to that, so when it happens, suddenly they owe us money. We know, in reality, this war will end like that. Moffs will refuse to give up power, admirals will disappear with their fleets, and holdouts will form all over the galaxy. Suddenly, when our debt is tripped, and they realize that they are nowhere ready to pay us back…"

  "We could ask for anything," Tatnia finished. "That… holy hell, that is diabolical."

  "Only if they are honest and honorable," Nal pointed out. "What happens when they refuse to pay our debt? How do we force them to be honest?"

  "We keep doing what we've been doing," I said with a smirk. "We kick ass and take names, do the impossible, and keep growing. We are already all over the Outer Rim. If we start dropping off capital ships, participating politically, and doubling down on cooperation, how long will it be until it's the same for the Rebels? Luke is already one good conversation from joining us, not that I would use him like that, he is a friend, and I won't stoop that low, but think about what would happen if the Rebellion tried to stiff us after we spent a couple of years saving their asses?"

  "There would be rioting, mutiny," Tatnia said with a smirk. "And whatever little control they could manage to hold on the Outer Rim would become a lot less stable."

  "And if we called them out? Pushed the news all over?" I said. "Something like that is what gets people up out of their seats, determined to do something."

  "They could never risk it," Captain Gimbel said, shaking his head. "They would really have no choice but to pay you out or come to some sort of other agreement."

  "And our influence on whatever comes next is assured, even if they aren't honorable and try to brush us off," I finished. "Of course, I would prefer not to threaten or blackmail them with the debt, but if it keeps them from fucking around to find out, I'm all for it."

  For the next few hours, we continued to discuss possibilities, poking holes and figuring out what the best way to present our new plan was. Eventually, after it became increasingly clear that we had brainstormed as best we could, I called the meeting to an end. I wished 2nd and Corvak good luck on their latest mission before asking Finder to stay on for a few minutes so I could talk to him directly.

  Together, the two of us spent another thirty minutes or so outlining what I wanted for him to start looking into in terms of selling our own merchandise. He promised to start looking for land we could buy, as well as specific people capable of selling a variety of products, with a focus on starships. When we were finally done, I clicked off the holoprojecter and let out a long breath, before eventually making my way to my quarters.

  After all of that, I deserved a nap.